Maryland Technology Development Corp. has tapped an interim leader for the Maryland Venture Fund, which was the subject of a damaging state audit report and subsequent reform legislation earlier this year.

Elizabeth Good Mazhari has been named the interim managing director of TEDCO’s Maryland Venture Fund or MVF. The appointment comes as TEDCO is finalizing new governing regulations that it hopes will meet legislators' expectations of how it should be distributing state funds to Maryland startups. New investments through the MVF have been halted since June, while TEDCO enacts legislative-directed reforms and works to fill executive positions left open by a slew of recent resignations. Former MVF Managing Director Andy Jones announced his departure from TEDCO in May.

Having an MRI scan can be an unpleasant experience. The procedure often involves a patient lying down inside a large tube for at least 30 minutes and being instructed to remain motionless as magnetic and radio waves create detailed pictures of their organs. Many find the machine's loud, clanging noises unnerving and are left feeling panicky and claustrophobic.

Image: Johns Hopkins doctoral student Puyang Wang - https://hub.jhu.edu

Merger and acquisitions (M&A) activity within the healthcare industry heightened last year, according to recent research data and this could feed into gains for M&A and healthcare-focused ETFs for traders sensing an opportunity.

“The U.S. healthcare market saw a 14.4 percent increase in mergers and acquisitions from 2017-2018, fueled by soaring domestic venture capital investment – an all-time high of $130.9 billion invested in U.S.-based startups in 2018 alone,” a press release by Sage Growth Partners said. “Compounding the pace and complexity of deal flow are sweeping industry trends ranging from managing and measuring health outcomes to reducing the overall cost of care.”

A key part of president Donald Trump’s strategy to cut drug prices was to attack global “freeloading” for pharmaceuticals, targeting countries pushing back against pharma companies trying to charge higher US-level prices for their products.

But in trade negotiations with Canada and Mexico, it looks like that the Trump administration has not followed through on the strong rhetoric set out in his drug pricing strategy published last year.

According to press reports Trump’s negotiating team have agreed to scrap provisions on exclusivity of biologics, allowing each country to decide when the patent protection period expires on biologics.

Nearly 400 biotech leaders from across the Biohealth Capital Region (BHCR) gathered recently in Bethesda, Maryland at the Bio Innovation Conference, hosted by Maryland Life Sciences (MDLS), a division of the Maryland Tech Council. The event focused on advancements and opportunities for Maryland cell and gene therapy companies and why Maryland is becoming the number one location of choice for growing biotech companies. However, it was the afternoon keynote featuring JLABS @Washintgon, DC’s Michelle McMurry-Heath, MD, PhD, that caused a buzz in the crowd. 

Image: https://biobuzz-io.cdn.ampproject.org

Trump‘s choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration has ties to both Wall Street and drug makers

A conservative doctor-turned-pundit with deep ties to Wall Street and the pharmaceutical industry is President Donald Trump‘s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration.

Dr Scott Gottlieb, 44, would be tasked with Trump‘s goal of cutting red tape at the FDA, which regulates everything from pharmaceuticals to seafood to electronic cigarettes. 

Rockville, MD: December 10, 2019. Robovet Corporation, a Rockville, Maryland startup focused on building novel veterinary diagnostic imaging systems, today announced it has begun raising funds through an equity crowdfunding campaign on the Wefunder platform (www.Wefunder.com/robovet). Robovet’s novel MRI systems for veterinary diagnostic imaging, robotic surgery and image guided therapy are expected to dramatically reduce the costs of advanced diagnostic imaging and veterinary cancer treatment. The company, headed by veterinary radiologist MC Seward DVM, MS, MBA, utilizes novel magnetic systems initially developed within the Weinberg Medical Physics incubator. According to Dr. Seward, “When I learned about Robovet’s MRI and image-guided treatment technology, it was easy to see the potential applications to the broader veterinary market in advanced diagnostic imaging and innovative therapies for equine and small animal veterinary patients”. “Dr. Seward’s academic work in MRI-guided therapy and his entrepreneurial experience make him the ideal CEO for the company,`` stated Irving Weinberg, MD PhD, co-founder. About Robovet Corporation

Chuck Morton, Partner, Venable, LLP, joins BioTalk host Rich Bendis to discuss the local entrepreneurial and business ecosystem, regionalism, and the BioHealth Capital Region

Chuck Morton is co-chair of Venable's Corporate Group. Chuck is recognized for his abilities in guiding financing, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and other transactions involving middle-market companies. Chuck assists lenders, investors, and entrepreneurs as they create, build, and buy or sell businesses, primarily in the healthcare, technology, and consumer products industries. He regularly acts on behalf of private equity groups and banks. Chuck currently serves as the Secretary on the BioHealth Innovation Board of Directors.

 Listen now on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/2QwoEIl, Google Podcasts http://bit.ly/33sWjJc, and TuneIn http://bit.ly/2M60Wmx

The Germantown company said its new app can sense a person's glucose levels.

ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerecor Inc. (NASDAQ: CERC), a biopharmaceutical company focused on becoming a leader in development and commercialization of treatments for orphan and rare diseases, as well as neurology announced today it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Aevi Genomic Medicine (NASDAQ: GNMX) in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $16.1 million at closing, plus contingent value rights, or CVRs, for up to an additional $6.5 million in subsequent milestone payments on clinical or regulatory successes, or both.  Additionally, the Company is exploring strategic alternatives for its neurological assets as well as its one commercialized product Millipred®.

Xconomy Boston —  After joining AstraZeneca’s Boston Bio Hub incubator last year, Gatehouse Bio is now teaming up with the pharma company to identify potential drug targets in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Under the collaboration, expected to last multiple years, Gatehouse will use its sRNAlytics platform to identify small RNA (sRNA) signatures, which the company says help in diagnosing and subtyping diseases from human samples. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Jay A. Perman will take over as chancellor of the University System of Maryland in January as Robert L. Caret steps down six months earlier than planned.

Caret had decided not to seek another five-year contract, and the system’s Board of Regents announced it had chosen Perman, the University of Maryland, Baltimore President, to succeed Caret in June.

But on Friday, the Board of Regents announced that University of Maryland, Baltimore’s provost and executive vice president, Bruce Jarrell, will take over as the interim president of the university early next year. In a letter to the University of Maryland, Baltimore community, Perman said that the Regents “has set my start date” as Jan. 6.

Image: https://www.umaryland.edu/

Ben Wu, the deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Commerce, has been named as the new CEO for the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation.

MCEDC is a public-private economic development nonprofit for the county.

The Montgomery County agency’s board of directors announced the appointment in a press release on Wednesday afternoon. Wu’s first day is Dec. 18.

Image: Ben Wu, Maryland's deputy commerce secretary, has been named as the new CEO for the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation. PHOTO FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Newswise — The rise of additive manufacturing – or as it's more commonly known, 3D printing – has enabled the rapid production of complex parts across many domains. As the techniques have become more refined, the semiconductor industry has taken note. But until recently, no one's been able to form single-crystal materials – the building block of semiconductors – with traditional additive manufacturing processes.

Image: Johns Hopkins APL Takes 3D Printing of Electronic Parts to the Next Level

ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmes today announced that it is part of a team of medical centers, universities and private industry supporting the development of a "universal influenza vaccine" that could provide longer-lasting protection than current vaccines and combat a wider variety of influenza viruses.

Gaithersburg, MD and Cambridge, MA – December 4, 2019: MaxCyte, the global cell-based therapies and life sciences company, and KSQ Therapeutics, a biotechnology company using its proprietary CRISPRomics® discovery platform to achieve higher probabilities of success in drug development, announced today that the companies have entered into a new development and commercialization agreement. Under the agreement, KSQ gains rights to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation® technology and ExPERT™ instruments for the advancement of KSQ’s engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (eTIL™) programs, which the company is developing for the treatment of PD-1 refractory solid tumors.

A Maryland-based biotechnology firm seems to have solved a puzzling issue for drug targeting and delivery that may usher in an era of gene therapies for neurological disorders. Rockville, Maryland’s REGENXBIO’s NAV Technology Platform provides the ability to treat neurological disorders by targeting specific disease-related genes or gene products. Their patented technology glides across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) without triggering the patient’s immune system as with unengineered adeno-associated virus (AAV)-derived vectors, providing localized gene delivery with few side effects.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

In May of 2018 Kite Pharma, a Gilead Company, announced the opening of a new Neo Antigen Facility in Gaithersburg, MD. Less than one year later in April of 2019, the company, announced that it was building a new biomanufacturing facility on a 20-acre site in Frederick, MD. Since then, Kite has been diligently working to build a world-class leadership team at both sites to achieve an important mission.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

EMMes has announced the development of a vaccine for the flu that is “universal influenza vaccine”.  EMMes is the part of a team including medical centers, private industry, and universities that support the development of a vaccine. The vaccine provides protection for a long time as compared to currently available vaccines. Moreover, it is capable to fight against a wide range and variety of influenza. The news was announced in ROCKVILLE on Dec 2, 2019.

Image: https://askhealthnews.com

Full-house, standing room only at our 'Launching Life Sciences Innovation in Baltimore' event co-hosted by LifeBridge Health and The LaunchPort at Rye Street Tavern. Thank you to MARYLAND BUSINESS INCUBATION ASSOCIATION and Weller Development for your support.

Image: https://www.linkedin.com

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is developed as a Common Fund initiative (http://commonfund.nih.gov/) through the Office of the NIH Director, Office of Strategic Coordination (https://dpcpsi.nih.gov/). All NIH Institutes and Centers participate in Common Fund initiatives. The FOA will be administered by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) on behalf of the NIH.

A biotech startup that’s backed by Silicon Valley’s well-known Y Combinator accelerator has ties to Baltimore: GEn1E Lifesciences is working to commercialize a treatment for inflammatory and age-related diseases that was developed at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and is partnering with a Baltimore-based startup that also grew out of UMB collaboration.

Image: Dr. Ritu Lal is CEO of GEn1E Lifesciences. (Courtesy photo)

We're bringing together neurotech companies, academic researchers and federal labs to network and collaborate.

Image: https://www.eventbrite.com

Montgomery County has a new top economic development official: Benjamin Wu, formerly a top adviser to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.

Wu will take over as the president and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Dec. 18, according to a news release. The group has been searching for a new leader ever since David Petr, its inaugural CEO, left this fall.

Image: Benjamin Wu will take over as the new head of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation. DBED

GERMANTOWN, Md. - Sept. 10, 2019 - PRLog -- Primetime Life Sciences, LLC,  a Maryland based pharmaceutical company focused on discovery and development of new and smart treatments, announced today that the company has successfully met the Phase I grant milestones, and has been awarded Phase II funding of $2.63 million from a Fast Track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The SBIR program supports scientific excellence and technological innovation by encouraging small businesses to engage in translation research and bring innovative treatments.

Alex Trebek appeared well en route to surviving pancreatic cancer this past summer when his doctors followed up his initial successful chemotherapy with an undisclosed immunotherapy. That move backfired.

“I was doing so well. And my numbers went down to the equivalent of a normal human being who does not have pancreatic cancer. So we were all very optimistic. And they said, ‘Good, we’re gonna stop chemo, we’ll start you on immunotherapy,” Trebek said September 17 on ABC’s Good Morning America. “I lost about 12 pounds in a week. And my numbers went sky-high, much higher than they were when I was first diagnosed.”

A pair of Baltimore teams focused on medication use are joining forces in the quest to ensure patients follow their prescribed plans.

Tech company emocha Mobile Health and the Baltimore-based University of Maryland School of Pharmacy’s Center for Innovative Pharmacy Solutions are collaborating to offer a medication review that combines pharmacists and a mobile app. This will be offered as emocha expands to hospitals, health systems and health insurers, said CEO Sebastian Seigeur.

“This is now our standard,” he said.

Image: Telehealth at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy's eHealth Center. (Courtesy photo)

NextGen Venture Partners reported Tuesday that it raised more than $42 million for its second fund, nearly double its initial haul three years ago.

The $42.68 million in new funding comes about a year after the venture firm first indicated plans to raise a fund, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Though, those efforts were delayed by its acquisition in early 2018 by Baltimore investment giant Brown Advisory. While Tuesday's filing lists Brown Advisory CEO Michael Hankin as the top executive, NextGen co-founders Dan Mindus and Brett Gibson both remain managing partners, per the website, and still work in the D.C. area, according to their LinkedIn profiles.

As of yesterday, the XBI biotech index has not only reversed last month’s slump but reached the full-year high it set in April. And that’s despite the fact that drug pricing rhetoric has hardly subsided, and next year’s presidential election remains as unpredictable as ever.

Image: https://mailchi.mp

Venture capital has something of a reputation as a boys’ club, but there are women making their mark in this field. In particular, five women have been singled out for their contributions to the life sciences industry.

Bio Buzz selected five women venture capitalists who are considered “trailblazing investors shaping the future of life science investing” in the BioCapital Hotbed Community, which includes Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

A consortium of leaders from Boston’s biggest research institutions are joining forces on advancing biological manufacturing and innovation. 

Executives from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, GE Healthcare Life Sciences and Alexandria Real Estate Equities will serve as the board of directors of a planned $50M center of advanced biological innovation and manufacturing, the group announced Monday.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Joseph Williams Harvard University's Widener Library

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) today announced the expansion of its Scientific Advisory Board. The NFCR Scientific Advisory Board includes Webster Cavenee, PhD, Chair; Frederick W. Alt, PhD; Ruggero De Maria, PhD; Kanaga Sabapathy, PhD; and Peter Vogt, PhD.

The mission of the NFCR Scientific Advisory Board is to provide scientific, strategic, and clinical guidance and direction for NFCR basic science and translational research programs. Directed by Webster Cavenee, PhD, the NFCR Scientific Advisory Board is comprised of leaders in cancer research who have made significant breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, scientists who are committed to furthering NFCR's unwavering commitment to funding research that will cure cancer—all types of cancer.

Greetings!

We would like to invite you to a special event to join other industry leaders and peers to celebrate a year of growth within our entrepreneurial ecosystem and the greater Biohealth Capital Region.

Several of the region's top startup executives will participate in an engaging discussion and share the lessons they have learned along their journeys in building their past and current companies.

Greetings!

We would like to invite you to a special event to join other industry leaders and peers to celebrate a year of growth within our entrepreneurial ecosystem and the greater Biohealth Capital Region.

Several of the region's top startup executives will participate in an engaging discussion and share the lessons they have learned along their journeys in building their past and current companies.

Happy Thanksgiving from Rich Bendis and the BHI Team!