Applications Due September 5

The Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) Program is now open and accepting applications for the September 5th NIH SBIR/STTR receipt date. NHLBI will accept applications via PAR-19-333, PAR-19-334, and PAR-19-335 from small businesses that have had an active NHLBI SBIR or STTR Phase II or Phase IIB award within the last 36 months.

This opportunity provides up to $300,000 (PAR-19-334) or $500,000 (PAR-19-333, PAR-19-335) to support technical assistance and later stage research and development (R&D) not typically supported through Phase II or Phase IIB grants or contracts including:

• Independent replication of key studies
• Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies
• Clinical studies, manufacturing costs
• Regulatory assistance

Contact NHLBI Small Business Program Coordinator Mike Pieck (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) with questions.

Bayer said today it has agreed to acquire BlueRock Therapeutics for up to $600 million in a deal designed to catapult the buyer into leadership in cell therapies, nearly three years after joining with healthcare investment firm Versant Ventures to launch the company.

This just in: Maryland’s internet is the least likely to cut out right at the juicy scene in ‘The Bachelor’. According to web service provider assessment group Highspeedinternet.com, Maryland has the fastest internet speed in the country.

While medical device innovation is quite active—at the university level, within incubators, and even in the R&D labs of established firms—there is a substantial lack of products being developed for younger patients. Since pediatric devices have a limited patient base due to most children being relatively healthy (of course, a positive factor), it’s not a focus for a great number of companies as it does not offer the promise of a substantial financial return.

The amount of deals and dollars invested in healthcare is hitting near record highs for the first half of 2019 with $26.9 billion poured into healthcare companies over 2,258 deals around the world, according to CB Insights’ Global Healthcare Report.

That represents a slight uptick from the first half of 2018 where $26.5 billion was invested over 2,223 deals.

Everyone knows how important funding is for starting a venture, whether you are building a small business or high-growth tech startup. The capital needs of a venture change along with the venture’s stage — early-stage ventures might need help with product development costs, while established companies may need funding to expand to a new location or market segment.

RoosterBio, Inc., a Frederick, MD-based human mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (hMSC) biomanufacturing company, raised in excess of $15m in an initial Series B financing.

The round was led by Dynamk Capital, with participation from existing and new investors. The Series B final round is expected to close with additional investors by the end of August, totaling approximately $22m raised.

The growing number of private biopharma and diagnostic/therapeutic technology company financings completed in recent months masks an overall year-over-year decrease in the total value of those deals.

On Thursday, August 22nd from 4-6:00 pm there will be an open house for the fall courses in the “Advanced Studies in Technology Transfer” program at the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) Graduate School at NIH in the FAES Academic Center in NIH Building 10 in Bethesda, MD. For the semester beginning on Monday, September 9th there will be 9 courses available for the program given in either Rockville or Bethesda:

• TECH 495 – The FDA, Science, Health Policy and Regulation in an Uncertain Environment
• TECH 513A - Introduction to Technology Transfer – Issues & Processes
• TECH 521 – Tools for Technology Transfer Managers–Handling Intellectual Property, Collaborations, and Agreements
• TECH 565 – Biomedical Business Development for Scientists
• TECH 567 -- International Strategic Partnering and Business Development
• TECH 575 – Accounting and IP Valuation for Non-Accountants
• TECH 583 -- Patent Research for Non-Legal Practitioners
• TECH 588 – FDA Regulatory Strategy in Medical Product Development
• TECH 607 - Capstone Course in Technology Transfer
• PHAR 328 – FDA Perspective on Drug Development

More details can be found in the new 2019-20 course catalog (www.faes.org) with online registration for classes available. The Advanced Studies in Technology Transfer is an open enrollment program with class credits transferable into various graduate degree programs at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) Graduate School and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).

Technology Transfer Scholarships

FAES offers a limited number of partial tuition-remission scholarships for self-funding students. For deadlines and details on how to apply visit https://faes.org/tuition-and-funding .

Also as Department Chair, I’m happy to assist with any questions you might have about the program or individual courses.

Back when YC was getting started about 10 years ago, Paul Graham wrote some essays that predicted the way startup fundraising would change in the next decade – accurately, it turns out. Paul Graham predicted that there would be way more startups, that they’d be cheaper to start, that new kinds of investors would fund them, that founders would be more technical, and that founders would keep control of their companies. All of those seem to have come true.

Facility Logix, a leading life science consulting firm, has hired two new Associate Project Managers:  Jocaro L. Dodd and Wayne Mitchell.  The new Associate Project Managers will be instrumental in addressing the facility-related needs of the firm’s Owner’s Representation and Project Management clients.

Canton-based VitusVet, which built a health IT platform for vets, received investment from Nationwide Insurance as the company’s team continues to grow.

Joshna Seelam is closing in on her target.

The VCU graduate student is one of three members of Kilo Medical Solutions, a Richmond medical device startup that’s getting ever closer to launch.

County Executive Marc Elrich and Council Vice President Sidney Katz are embarking on a multi-pronged joint initiative: 4Business – Benchmarking to Be the Best for Business.

The objective is to engage the local business community in a grassroots campaign to assist businesses to locate, grow and prosper in Montgomery County.

Was your credit card unexpectedly rejected? Or have you spotted unfamiliar charges on your bank statement? These are just a couple signs of potential identity theft. (Source: Federal Trade Commission)

Once you realize your identity has been compromised, you need to act fast. But don’t panic; this guide will walk you through each step you need to take to be sure you recover as quickly as possible.

The gene therapy company has made three distinct moves over the past week that reinforce its intention to get products to market after a decade in business.

GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer have finally closed on a multibillion-dollar merger that combined their consumer healthcare businesses, creating the world’s largest over-the-counter business.

The pharmaceutical giants — which own household names like Advil and Tums — announced the joint venture back in December 2018.

A venture capital firm formed by a founder of one of the first companies to win Food and Drug Administration approval for a cell therapy for cancer closed a new fund worth more than half of $1 billion.

Precision for Medicine, part of Precision Medicine Group, announced it has acquired leading biospecimen providers ProMedDx and GLAS, significantly expanding its capabilities and expertise in the biospecimen solutions space. With the acquisitions, Precision now offers an unmatched level of scientific understanding, high-quality specimen solutions, and global scale. 

What’s it like having two high-profile jobs at once? Ask Brian Darmody, who’s been serving the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP) since 1982 and long ago ascended to the position of associate vice president. Darmody recently accepted a new position as CEO with the Association of University Research Park (AURP), which will keep him in the local focus as he works toward retiring from UMCP at the end of 2019 – while continuing to work out of the Discovery District at UMCP and pursue new challenges.

Magenta Medical, the heart failure solutions developer based on proprietary miniaturized blood pump technology announced they have raised funds Monday in a round led by global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA.)

You might have lost count of how many times Roche has extended the tender offer period for shares of Spark Therapeutics. As of Wednesday, it's five. And once again, regulatory delays are part of the problem.

Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation - Maryland is excited to be attending Site Selectors Guild Fall Forum this September 9-11th in Dallas! We're looking forward to connecting with Guild members to tell them about all the great business assets Montgomery County has to offer! hashtag#SSG hashtag#econdev hashtag#siteselection hashtag#Dallas

The University System of Maryland (USM) has named Claire Broido Johnson, MBA, as Managing Director of the Maryland Momentum Fund (MMF), a $10 million investment fund that supports early-stage companies affiliated with USM institutions. She joins the USM this week.

Anne Lindblad, PhD, joined Emmes in 1982 as a Biostatistician and currently serves as the President and CEO of the company. She has supported clinical research throughout her career, serving as Principal Investigator of projects spanning diverse disease areas, including neurology, ophthalmology, oncology, dialysis, transplantation, speech and hearing, and dentistry.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced today that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has exercised its first contract option valued at $261 million to procure doses of AV7909 (anthrax vaccine adsorbed with adjuvant) for delivery into the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) over 12 months. This contract option was exercised under the company’s 2016 development and procurement contract with BARDA, valued at up to $1.5 billion, that includes a five-year base period of performance to develop AV7909 for post-exposure prophylaxis of anthrax disease and to deliver an initial three million doses to the SNS, as well as contract options for procurement of up to an additional 50 million doses. This exercise of the contract option through a modification is the first such option for procurement of doses to follow the initial deliveries of doses under the base contract.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital is once again ranked #3 in the nation out of more than 4,600 hospitals reviewed for U.S. News & World Report’s 2019–20 Best Hospitals list, which was released today.

Mayo Clinic and medical device giant Boston Scientific are slated to announce a new med-tech accelerator Monday. 

The collaboration will be located in One Discovery Square, a new building in Rochester adjacent to Mayo Clinic that's meant to attract medical technology startups.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded more than $600,000 to a division of Johns Hopkins University on Tuesday to increase economic development in the region’s digital health field.

gel-e is developing a line of advanced hemostatic and wound treatment products that address unmet needs from the operating room to the backyard.  Following previous clearances for topical and external use of its platform technology (see http://www.gel-e.co/news.html), the Company is now expanding its label to include use for internal and surgical applications.  The first product, now on an accelerated path as a Breakthrough Device, is an expanding injectable hemostat, Life Foam™.   Life Foam can rapidly provide temporary control of bleeding from non-compressible abdominal wounds that are not amenable to tourniquet application in trauma and battlefield conditions.  As the tradename suggests, this product is designed to save the lives of those injured in battle, or that are the victims of traumatic accidents or even terrorist attacks.  

In the last five to 10 years, it would seem as though Baltimore is finally emerging (at least economically) — from its slow, multi-decade decline. But if you’re a resident of one of the city’s poorer neighborhoods, you might not know it.

A nice, relaxing glass of Bordeaux or Cabernet might easily seem like the perfect treatment for an anxious or slightly depressed state. Though, the alcohol might lead one down a slippery path rather quickly. Instead, investigators at the University of Buffalo (UB) and Xuzhou Medical University in China have decided to focus their attention on the widely studied plant compound—found in considerably higher levels in red wine than most other plants—called resveratrol. This phenolic compound has been studied for several decades, in connection with reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease and for the treatment of cancer, with mixed results. Yet now, researchers found new evidence of resveratrol displaying anti-stress effects by blocking the expression of an enzyme related to the control of stress in the brain.

A patent granted to George Mason University Research Foundation Inc., which describes a novel treatment method for pre-invasive breast cancer, has been exclusively licensed to Targeted Pharmaceuticals LLC, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on utilizing cannabinoids for the treatment of  oncology and central nervous system disorders.

Venn Innovation, a non-profit Moncton-based incubator established to connect New Brunswick’s tech ecosystem, has received approximately $475,000 from the federal government in the form of a grant.

BrainScope announced today that it has successfully completed a nearly five year, $9.9 million U.S. Department of Defense research contract supporting the development and validation of an objective marker of the presence and severity of concussion. In a large blinded validation study, the system demonstrated its ability to help clinicians assess concussion at the time of injury, reflect severity of injury, and aid in their assessment of readiness to return to activity. BrainScope extended the work performed under this Department of Defense contract to include adolescents funded through private investment from BrainScope and a second award from the NFL-GE Head Health Challenge I.