Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:PSTI) (TASE:PLTR) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Pluristem Ltd., has entered into an exclusive out-license agreement with United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq:UTHR) for the use of Pluristem's PLacental eXpanded (PLX) cells to develop and commercialize a cell-based product for the treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension (PH).

Under the terms of the agreement, United Therapeutics will receive exclusive worldwide licensing rights for the development and commercialization of the future product for treating PH patients. Pluristem will retain all manufacturing rights; participate in the pre-clinical and clinical trial activities, as well as provide the commercial grade product.

UK pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline has unveiled an "open innovation" platform through which it will publish data from its clinical trials online so it can be analysed by external researchers. 

The online system allows scientists to submit a to request access anonymised drug trial data. Each request will be judged a panel of external experts appointed by GSK, and applicants must agree to publish their own findings. 

A Johns Hopkins University faculty member will be helping advise the National Institutes of Health about research topics with the most promise for addressing public health challenges.

Janice E. Clements, vice dean for faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has been selected to serve on the Council of Councils for NIH. Clements was among 10 individuals newly selected to serve on the 27-member council. Her term ends in October 2015.

Venture capitalists are pushing to allow more highly educated immigrants into the U.S., saying this is essential to ensuring that the country remains an innovation leader.

One argument they use is that immigrants create jobs by starting companies. Scott Sandell, general partner at New Enterprise Associates who leads the venture firm’s technology investing, wants to support this assertion with better data.

I had the privilege to meet with and speak to the local Healthcare meet-up recently (thanks to Pete Kanee at www.healthcare.mn) and as part of my discussion, I shared a list of things that I'd encourage the local (healthcare) startups to continue to keep in mind as they grow their companies.  

These are relevant to not only healthcare-focused startups but all startups for that matter.  They're pretty common, but in my recent conversations with healthcare entrepreneurs, I found many of these needing to be brought up as part of the dialogue.

Thursday, May 23rd at 5:00 p.m.

Join NFTE Baltimore as an honored guest at out Regional City Wide Business Plan Competition. The top size finalists will present and defend their business plans before a prestigious panel of judges and an audience of top buiness and school leaders. The networking reception will include a Student Showcase and we will also honor NFTE's biggest supporters of youth entrepreneurship.

University of Baltimore
William T. Thumel Sr. Business Center
11 West Mount Royal Avenue

Seating is limited RSVP here by May 20th.

The University of Maryland Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) invites you to participate in the 5th Biennial NMR Day symposium on Friday, May 17, 2013, at our facility in Rockville, Maryland.

IBBR (formerly CARB) hosts a biennial meeting, designed to promote discussion and collaboration among scientists active in the application of biomolecular NMR to modern problems in structural biology and biotechnology. The symposium speakers are internationally recognized in the application of NMR to biological systems

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced its participation in the Defence against Terrorism Programme of Work (DAT POW) workshop conducted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Emerging Security Challenges Division at the Counter Terror Expo in London. An initial session of the workshop was focused on the future capabilities and protection of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community on areas such as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR), Biometrics and Forensics, Information Sharing Systems, Tactical Computer, Communications, Command and Control (C4), and Force Protection.

“Emergent strongly supports NATO’s initiatives to educate on protecting those who protect the population,” said Allen Shofe, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Emergent BioSolutions. “NATO DAT POW workshops are highly relevant and informative as they cover various activities undertaken and coordinated by NATO countries.”

TOPIC: 

Leveraging USDA-ARS Partnerships and Capabilities to Help Your Business

PRESENTERS:  

Robert Griesbach, Ph.D.
Deputy Assistant Administrator Office of Technology  

James Poulos, III
Technology Transfer Coordinator  

Cathy Cohn
Technology Transfer Liaison      

Abstract:  

Agricultural Research Services (ARS) is the research arm of the Department of Agriculture that develops and transfers solutions to agricultural problems affecting Americans every day, from field to table.  To accelerate the development of new products and help move technologies into the marketplace, ARS often partners with companies and research institutions early on in the research process.  Working collaboratively alongside ARS, partners are able access and implement ARS technologies, resources and expertise to further develop specific products and create new ones.  ARS conducts research in 800 projects at 90 locations including six pilot plants and six human nutrition centers.  With a long standing commitment to technology transfer, ARS works closely with the private sector to ensure research outcomes are adopted.  Please join us to learn about the wide range of expertise and capabilities from ARS that can be used to grow your business  

The National Capitol Area Local Chapter of SoPE in concert with JHU Carey Business School, MedChi, Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Center for Biotechnology Education, Montgomery County Medical Society, and the Medical Society of Northern Virginia presents:

“Working with Industry in the Life Sciences - What does it Really Take?”

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013--6:00PM to 8:00PM

Johns Hopkins University, Montgomery County Campus, Building III – 9605 Medical Center Drive, Room 121

Johns Hopkins says it is working on its largest-ever fundraising campaign, which aims to raise $4.5 billion by the end of 2017.

The university and health system announced the effort Saturday. The idea is to create as many as 300 endowed professorships and generate nearly $700 million for undergraduate financial aid and graduate student fellowships.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013 finalists have a lot to celebrate. They've built their dream companies. Expanded. Innovated. And now Ernst & Young is recognizing them for their achievements. Help us congratulate these outstanding entrepreneurs. Join us at this years event and see who will take home top honors.

Somewhere between venture funding and bank loans is a kind of investment that seems to fly under the radar, but apparently over the last several years has become increasingly popular for biotech companies beyond the startup stage looking for growth capital.

Royalty financing is the vehicle that Capital Royalty L.P. will use to invest its new $805 million fund in healthcare products and technologies. But (sorry startups), it’s not looking for early-stage companies. Capital Royalty says it invests in companies with FDA-approved healthcare products that are generating revenue. These are companies looking to make acquisitions, expand into new markets or develop new products with investments of $20 million to $200 million.

Late last week, leaders from across the global vaccine industry gathered at the 6th Annual Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) awards ceremony during the World Vaccine Congress in Washington, D.C, to honor the industry’s best and brightest.   Immunovaccine is proud to announce that chief executive officer John Trizzino was awarded this year’s Best Biotech CEO prize during the ceremony.  

In considering candidates for the Best Biotech CEO award, judges evaluated a number of important criteria including:  

• Degree of outstanding commitment to disease prevention and treatment
• Level of exemplary leadership throughout the year
• Contribution to company performance, communication and vision
• Influence within the industry
• Achievements made with regards to company positioning and status

The Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) today announces the winners of the inaugural University of Maryland Business Model Challenge.

The two winning UMD entrepreneur teams were selected from among 44 initial entries and 11 finalist teams, six of whom were selected to present the results they achieved through the Challenge's multi-week lean startup workshop to an expert panel of judges on April 26 at the University of Maryland.

Earlier this month, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), a trade association representing the U.S. venture capital industry, released the results of its MoneyTree Report on venture funding for the first quarter of 2013.  The report, which is prepared by NVCA and PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP using data from Thomson Reuters, indicates that venture capitalists invested $5.9 billion in 863 deals in the first quarter, which constituted a 12% decrease in dollars and a 15% decrease in deals as compared with the fourth quarter of 2012, when $6.7 billion was invested in 1,013 deals (see chart below; data from MoneyTree Reports).

Cyber - Health - Mobile

Thursday, June 6, 2013 8:00am – 1:00pm —UMBC 

Join us as we bring together top leaders and innovators in the fields of Cybersecurity, Health IT, and Mobile Technology. Learn where the technology is leading these 3 sectors and the opportunities that exist for real estate brokers and developers who want to capitalize on these expanding industries.

Hear from leaders including Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, one of Time Magazine’s “World’s 100 Most Influential People”, as well as Dr. Mark Doms, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs with the United States Department of Commerce, who serves as a top economic advisor to the Obama Administration and to the Department of Commerce.

Startup Maryland today announced dates (September 9 – 27) and the rough route for the Pitch Across Maryland 2.0, the second annual state-wide tour and celebration of entrepreneurship and startup companies.

Referred to by CBS News affiliate WBOC-TV 16 as “Opportunity on Wheels,” the inaugural Pitch Across Maryland tour was an overwhelming success last year. The bus traversed the state all in the name of celebrating entrepreneurship. A sampling of details, key data and results from last year’s tour follow:

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has partnered with Barclays Bank to develop a youth entrepreneurship program with the Bloomberg School's Center for American Indian Health. The new initiative is aimed at designing an evidence-based program to inspire American Indian youth to stay in school and create business and social entrepreneurship opportunities.

As part of the partnership, Barclays will provide a total of $1.2 million in program funding over the course of the next three years. Additionally, Barclays employees will lend their business expertise and serve as mentors to program participants.  Program efforts will first concentrate on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in Arizona with the ultimate goal to implement youth entrepreneurship programs in poverty stricken communities throughout the world. 

Chandra Duggirala, maker of an experimental device for type two diabetes, is on the verge of giving up.

Duggirala’s company, Novobionics, raised a small amount of funding for a noninvasive technology that mimics the effects of gastric bypass surgery. The device tricks the gastro-intestinal tract into thinking it is full, which slows the rate of nutrient absorption, thereby easing suffering for diabetes patients.

Ingenuity Systems, a 15-year veteran of the biological software business, showed today that you can make money not just by generating DNA data, but by helping scientists figure out what it means.

Redwood City, CA-based Ingenuity said today it has agreed to be acquired by Netherlands-based Qiagen for $105 million in cash. Ingenuity, a private company, was able to fetch that price after it closed last year with about $20 million in net sales, the companies said in a statement. The deal is expected to start adding to Qiagen’s profits in 2015, the companies said.

President Barack Obama dropped in on the National Academy of Sciences today to help it celebrate its 150th birthday.

The president said he's committed to increased public investment in scientific research, contending this is necessary in order for the U.S. to retain its technological edge. Under sequestration, however, federal spending on research is being cut, not increased.

A Columbia University administrator is taking over a top post at Johns Hopkins University.

Robert C. Lieberman will take on the role of provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Hopkins July 1. Lieberman is currently the interim dean of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Last year AstraZeneca's ($AZN) MedImmune did about 20 biologics deals, not counting the academic pacts it assembled. This year, MedImmune R&D chief Bahija Jallal tells me, there will be no letup in talent scouting. "If we do as little or more than last year," says Jallal, "I would be happy."

Echoing late-stage R&D chief Briggs Morrison--who spoke with me at BIO last week--Jallal singled out cardiovascular/metabolics, respiratory and cancer as key fields for new deals. She noted particular interest in brown fat, a focus for weight-loss fans, and immunotherapeutics, which has emerged as one of the hottest sectors in oncology R&D.

Google Ventures has been backing startups through its venture capital fund since 2009 and offers a pretty diverse range of services to entrepreneurs. Here’s a look at the eight healthcare and life science businesses among its portfolio companies spanning DNA analysis, accelerated drug development, and oncology analytics.

23andMe The startup has helped make personal genetics and DNA analysis much more accessible to consumers. The company, co-founded by Anne Wojsicki, offers DNA test kits that for $99 and a little saliva help people better understand what conditions they are at risk for developing, whether they are carriers for any diseases that they could unwittingly give to their children. It can also provide information on whether people’s genetic makeup makes them particularly sensitive to certain drugs. It also uses results from user queries, with their consent, to conduct in-house research.

May 7, 2013, 8:00am – 5:30pm (EDT)

NCI Shady Grove, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850

This workshop will include opportunities for one-on-one meetings with representatives of many of the presenting federal organizations. Please indicate your interest and top three choices below for one-on-one meetings. NCI SBIR Program Directors will also be available to meet on the afternoon of May 6. If you are interested in setting up a meeting on May 6, please mark the appropriate selection on the registration form below.

On May 6 at 6pm (EDT), NCI SBIR will host an informal, optional meet and greet at the Cafe Deluxe in the Rio Entertainment Center (9811 Washingtonian Boulevard Gaithersburg, MD 20878 – Terrace Room). Due to government restrictions, the meet and greet will be self-pay. Please RSVP below, as space for the meet and greet is limited.

Due to space limitations, priority will be given to current or recent NCI SBIR or STTR awardees, with a maximum of two (2) representatives allowed per company. This workshop is provided free of charge to attendees (excluding food and transportation expenses).

Once again we’re stepping into spring with more exciting programming in health entrepreneurship.  Our Rock Health Skillshare series is open to the public and provides a unique opportunity to get an in-depth look at critical issues in health innovation, as well as a peek at Rock Health HQ in Chinatown (Dim sum anyone?).  Classes generally range from $25-$30 and we provide snacks, refreshments, and ample opportunity for networking afterward.  Our teachers have extensive real-world domain expertise that they are enthusiastic about sharing with others.  

The Association of University Research Parks is proud to present the 18th Annual Awards of Excellence in research and science park development and practice. AURP will honor industry leaders at the 2013 International Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

These awards bring valuable recognition to the recipients and to the industry as a whole. To nominate a park, company or an individual who has demonstrated excellence in the field, please use the below links. Each link also provides criteria and details about the award. Nominations are due by May 20, 2013.

ETC, Baltimore City’s technology innovation center, announced today that it has chosen a new Baltimore City location to house it’s award winning technology incubator when its current Canton lease expires in October 2013. The ETC will move to 101 N. Haven Street, an adaptive reuse of an historic industrial building that was once home to the King Cork and Seal Company.  The recently renovated building is located near Highlandtown with easy access to I-95 and is within the Enterprise Zone and a HUBZone. The ETC will maintain space in its other location at Johns Hopkins University - Eastern Campus on 33rd Street.   

“The Emerging Technology Center has championed small business development and job creation in Baltimore for years, and we are proud to have supported their efforts,” said Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “We wish them the best of luck and success in their new location.  I’m confident that the ETC will continue to be an important driver of innovation and entrepreneurship in the city. ” 

The Emerging Technology Center will move to a new space in East Baltimore when its lease ends this fall at the Can Company, ending months of speculation about the incubator’s future in Canton.

The ETC plans to move in October to new offices in the former King Cork and Seal Building, a 70,000-square-foot property at 101 N. Haven St. in Highlandtown, not far from Interstate 895. The ETC's new 20,000-square-foot space is less than the 30,000 square feet of usable space it leased in Canton. The ETC, overseen by the Baltimore Development Corp., has had its office in Canton since 1999.

Maryland often has been at the forefront of innovation with a longstanding reputation for investing in science and technology to capture new opportunities for economic growth. This year's legislative session was no different. Lawmakers backed Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposals to support the state's bioscience sector, expand the R&D tax credit, enhance workforce training, and promote measures to establish the state as a leader in cybersecurity.

Today, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and the Medical Innovation and Competitiveness Coalition (MedIC) released Patient Capital 3.0: Confronting the Crisis and Achieving the Promise of Venture-Backed Medical Innovation. The report, which is in its third release, highlights the contribution of venture capital to medical innovation and provides perspective on the current investment environment in the U.S. for life sciences.    

“Venture-backed medical innovations still provide the critical new drugs, medical devices and diagnostics that improve and save the lives of millions of Americans, but the environment for investing in these breakthroughs has become increasingly challenging,” said Jonathan Leff, Partner at Deerfield Management and Chairman of MedIC. “While the promise of science to help solve our most pressing medical problems is extraordinary, the time, cost and uncertainty involved in building start-up companies that advance fundamental medical innovations have all risen, driving some investors away from the life sciences arena in recent years. We continue to express to policymakers the importance of promoting an environment that encourages investment in medical innovation.”

I wanted to share some data with you that illustrates the strength of Montgomery County's business community: total employment in the County grew by nearly 25,000 jobs - from 631,000 jobs in 2010 to 655,800 jobs in 2012! This is impressive given the economic climate and shows the resiliency and fortitude of our local businesses - large and small.

The top job gaining sector was professional, scientific and technical services, which added almost 5,300 jobs beteen 2010 and 2012.  The other top growing sectors were government, retail trade and health care and social assistance, each adding over 3,000 jobs during the three year period.

What if you could create a biotech startup focused on treating a rare disease, with a drug candidate already in hand, and high odds of success in clinical trials?

That’s the concept that crystallized in former MedImmune executive David Mott’s mind through decades of experience in the life sciences sector. The idea ultimately led him to start a Cambridge, MA-based biotech incubator called Cydan. This new organization, formally announced this month, has been staffed with a hand-picked squad of specialists tasked with churning out a lineup of small companies that make drugs for orphan diseases.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) announced today that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire the Healthcare Protective Products Division (HPPD) of Bracco Diagnostics Inc. in an all-cash transaction that includes payment of $26.0 million upon closing. The acquisition will diversify and expand Emergent’s biodefense franchise by adding product sales from HPPD’s marketed chemical countermeasure, RSDL (Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion). The acquisition offers Emergent an opportunity to leverage its core capabilities in manufacturing, government contracting, government sales, and product distribution as it looks to substantially expand sales of RSDL in the attractive and growing chemical countermeasure market.

“This acquisition directly supports our ongoing growth plan, which includes acquiring revenue generating, profitable products and businesses that address the needs of U.S. and allied foreign governments across the CBRN spectrum,” stated Daniel J. Abdun-Nabi, president and chief executive officer of Emergent BioSolutions. “Our relationships, combined with those of HPPD, with the U.S. Government and foreign ministries of defense, as well as worldwide distributor relationships addressing first responder markets, should enable us to grow revenues from RSDL and to expand and enhance Emergent’s leadership position as a premier supplier of CBRN countermeasures.”