Autolus Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: AUTL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer, announced that Claire Roddie MB, PhD, FRCPath, honorary senior lecturer, Cancer Institute, University College London (UCL), presented today initial data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 ALLCAR19 trial of AUTO1 in adult acute lymphoblastic B cell leukemia (ALL) as a late-breaking poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia.

April 4, 2019 3pm-6:30pmUniv. Shady Grove Convention Center 9630 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, Maryland 20850

Welcome to the Spring 2019 Meeting of the Metro DC Chapter of the Laboratory Research Interest Group! Although we have deep roots in Laboratory Automation, we also invite you to learn about other research technologies, new tools, and projects that are available and ongoing in the Capitol Bioscience hub!

This years theme is Emerging Technologies at the Forefront of Bioscience, with emphasis on 3D Cell Printing, Organoids, Tissue-On-Chip models, and Artificial Intelligence in Bioscience.

Attendance is free with your Eventbrite reservation, and we encourage you to register early.

– Winner to be announced during 2019 BioHealth Capital Region Forum –

Five innovative companies focused on the diagnosis or treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, TBI, Autism, Spinal misalignment, and Metastatic Cancer will present their innovative technologies to a panel of judges and industry leaders on April 9^th during the 2019 BioHealth Capital Region Forum, at the AstraZeneca campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Founded by BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) and AstraZeneca in 2016, the annual Crab Trap Competition highlights biohealth companies with strong commercial potential. The five finalists were selected from a competitive field of almost fifty entries. The 4^th Annual Crab Trap Competition is sponsored by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The grand prize this year is $10,000.

In 2016, the initial prize was awarded to Sonavex, a commercial stage Johns Hopkins spin-out focused on Empowered Patient Care.  The company’s first technology is a dual-component system comprising an FDA-cleared bioabsorbable implant (EchoMark) and an FDA-cleared custom automated ultrasound (EchoSure) to detect post-operative vascular complications prior to catastrophic surgical failures that represent a $3B annual market and cost hospitals up to $577,000 per instance. The company closed a $4.5M Series A in 2018, recently secured a $3M NIH grant and is currently raising its Series B. In 2017, the winner was another Johns Hopkins (JH*) spinout, LifeSprout, developer of a suite of products to address soft tissue needs in the aesthetic and reconstructive markets. Last year’s winner, Galen Robotics, is developing, in partnership with JHU, a surgical robot to make minimally invasive surgeries faster, safer and more precise. The company plans a 510k submission next year, is raising Series A financing, and will be relocating the HQ team in CA to join their engineering experts in Baltimore.

The 2019 BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap Finalists presenting at the forum at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 9^th, are:

BeCareLink - Predictive Artificial Intelligence Digital Therapeutic Mobile Platform for Multiple Sclerosis and other neurological conditions.

BRAINBox Solutions - Multi-Modality capability to diagnose and provide prognostic information for mild Traumatic Brain Injury. 

Floreo Inc. - Leveraging the power of virtual reality to develop a subscription platform that delivers immersive, fun, and affordable lessons for children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 

Spine Align - Spine Align is a medical device company developing technologies that enable spine surgeons to make real-time intraoperative measurements of spinal alignment.

Unleash Immuno Oncolytics - Developing armed, oncolytic viruses to treat metastatic cancers.  Our platform combines tissue-specific control of both viral replication and the expression of human cytokines to provide a dual punch in cancer cells.

AstraZeneca is spearheading the creation of a new life sciences park, in Wuxi, China, that aims to nurture innovation by bringing together local and international companies, government, and medical and academic institutions to help create a world-class healthcare innovation ecosystem.

AstraZeneca signed a global development and commercialization deal with Daiichi Sankyo for trastuzumab deruxtecan (DS-8201), an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC).

An ADC is a chemotherapy agent attached by a molecular linker to an antibody focused on a specific cancer marker. This way, the antibody delivers the toxic chemical directly to the tumors, minimizing the effects of the chemotherapy on healthy cells.

Pediatric orthopedic and spine medical device innovators –good news---the deadline has been extended until Tues., April 9 at midnight EST to apply for the NCC-PDI “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition with $250K in awards.

This is your chance to capture up to $50,000 in funding and gain access to the first-ever NCC-PDI “Pediatric Device Innovator Accelerator Program” led by MedTech Innovator.

Innovators earning a spot at this one-of-a-kind pediatric accelerator will receive mentorship and support from NCC-PDI’s network of medtech executives, investors, specialty pediatricians and FDA regulatory and business consultants. All finalists will be offered pitch perfect coaching by Entrepreneurs-In-Residence at BioHealth Innovation.

The competition will be held April 30, 2019 at the University of Maryland, College Park. Be part of it!

Jump start your journey to commercialization. The first step is applying here before the April 9, 2019 midnight EST deadline.

Creatv MicroTech, detecting and diagnosing cancer when it matters most, will present its latest findings on cancer diagnosis and treatment at the Annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Meeting at Atlanta, Georgia, March 29 – April 3, 2019.  Two posters will showcase the clinical utility of cancer-associated macrophage-like cells (CAMLs) biomarker.

Abstract No. 437 / 9: “Combining circulating stromal cells with cell free DNA for increased sensitivity in profiling oncogenic mutations and indicates highly aggressive non-small-cell lung cancer,” investigating the clinical potential of Circulogene’s Patient Mutation Load (PML) analysis from matched cfDNA, CAMLs, and tumor tissue to evaluate progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

AstraZeneca has signed on to be a founding partner for a new life sciences research hub in China, to be housed just west of Shanghai.

These are boom times for gene therapy, an innovative type of medicine that works to treat disease at the genetic level to offer a longer-lasting treatment and potentially even a cure.

BrainScope®, a medical neuro-technology company focused on concussion and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) assessment, announced today that it had concluded both algorithm development and clinical validation studies in adolescent and young adult populations using its objective, EEG-based technology. The purpose of the studies was to create and validate an objective, personalized capability for assessment of concussion and readiness to return to activities in males and females between the ages of 13-25. The studies conducted from 2015 through 2019 at 52 clinical sites included nearly 1,700 patients and healthy controls, with over 4,000 evaluations. Funding sources for the studies included a $9.9 million research contract from the U.S. Department of Defense, award funding from the NFL-GE Head Health Challenge (in which BrainScope was a two-time awardee), and BrainScope private funding.

Outside of the private sector, colleges and universities perform the vast majority of R&D in the United States – but where do these funds come from? An SSTI analysis of data from the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NSF NCSES) finds that, across the country, the federal government was the source of more than half (53.5 percent) of all R&D performed at colleges and universities in 2017. Institutional funds (25.1 percent), nonprofit organizations (6.8 percent), businesses (5.9 percent), state and local governments (5.6 percent), and other sources (3.0 percent) comprised the remaining sources of higher education R&D funding. The interactive chart below shows the breakdown of funding sources for research and development at colleges and universities for each state.

Thursday, July 19, 20184:30 - 7:00 PM EST

Spend an inspiring 10 minute ‘ideastorming’ session with the some of the most influential innovation leaders in the greater Baltimore area. To schedule a session with one of our experts, please complete the application (in addition to the event registration) at www.anchorventures.org.

Join us today as we speak with Dr. Kurt Newman from Children's National Health System about innovations in pediatrics.

Fina Biosolutions is pleased to announce that the Serum Institute of India Private Limited (SIIPL), has completed a Phase 3 study for Pneumosil® a 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, in which the Serum Institute indicates all primary and secondary objectives were met. Pneumosil covers over 70% of invasive pneumococcal-disease causing serotypes and employs conjugation chemistry licensed from Fina Biosolutions under a 2007 technology agreement.

Last week, the Greater Washington Partnership (the Partnership) and Business Roundtable (BRT) held an event showcasing the Capital CoLAB (Collaborative of Leaders in Academia and Business). The Capital CoLAB is an action-oriented partnership of university and business leaders across the Capital Region, from Baltimore to Richmond, who have come together to position the region as a leading global hub for innovation.

A company that makes products for science researchers has bought one of the largest contract manufacturers of viral vectors for gene therapy.

Successful Marketing and PR Strategies for Your Startup

• PR and Marketing – What’s the difference?
• How do you establish your brand?
• Are there tips for marketing on a tight budget?
• How do we become known as an Employer of Choice?
• How can I become known as a Thought Leader in my field?
• How do we get press coverage for our products/service/technology?
• What should we budget for our website, social media, PR activities?

SPEAKERS

• Sasha Whitaker - American Gene Technologies
• Warren Ellis - Montgomery County Economic Dev. Corp.
• Jennifer Owers and Rachel Wojnilower – Clark Concepts

SCHEDULE

• 8:15 a.m. - Networking and Coffee
• 8:30 a.m. - Discussion with Q&A (in person/by videoconference)
• 9:45 a.m. - One-on-One Meetings with Experts*

 
Pre-Registration REQUIRED: RSVP by NOON, 4/3 at tinyurl.com/BHIMktgPR2019

No charge to attend

More Details »

*In person attendance during the discussion is required to participate in 1:1 meeting with experts.

NIH funding is critical to improving health outcomes and reducing the societal costs of illnesses. Congress should increase the NIH budget and then maintain regular, steady increases.

A sampling of recent reports shows just how much immuno-oncology continues to grow. Last month, GrandView Research projected a more than doubling of the global cancer immunotherapy market, from the $58.1 billion it tallied in 2018, to $126.9 billion by 2026. As GEN noted when it ranked the top immuno-oncology startups in February, market projections range from $124.88 billion (Transparency Market Research) to $173 billion (Market Research Engine) by 2024.

To launch a company that might attract the investment you need to develop a promising new drug candidate or research tool you need to assemble at least two, but preferably all, of these three things: (a) intellectual property (IP), (b) proof of principle, and (c) team with some biotech experience.

Viela Bio had raised $282 million when it launched at the end of February 2018.

HemoShear Therapeutics, LLC, a privately held biotechnology company, today announced an extension of its partnership with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited to discover and develop additional novel therapeutics for liver diseases, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Paragon Bioservices, the leading private equity-backed, biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) announced today the appointment of Thomas VanCott, Ph.D., as Chief Technology and Strategy Officer (CTSO), along with several key promotions and new hires.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) today announced the initiation of a Phase 3 trial to evaluate the lot consistency, immunogenicity, and safety of AV7909 (anthrax vaccine adsorbed with CPG 7909 adjuvant) following a two-dose schedule administered intramuscularly in healthy adults. AV7909 is being developed for post-exposure prophylaxis of disease resulting from suspected or confirmed Bacillus anthracis exposure.

A life sciences-focused venture capital firm has raised more than $800 million for its latest fund.

One year after spinning out from AstraZeneca’s MedImmune, Viela Bio is already anticipating filing a Biologics License Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead asset, inebilizumab.

Vixiar, a Johns Hopkins spinout marketing a tablet-based point of care system for assessing cardiac filling pressure, has raised $1.5 million in Series A funding. This brings the company’s total funding to $3 million.

GlaxoSmithKline’s experimental drug GSK095 is designed to work in tandem with checkpoint inhibiting medicines in the hopes of empowering the immune system to launch a more aggressive attack against tumors than it does with checkpoint inhibitors alone. Early results from a preclinical trial of a related GSK drug suggest that the combo holds promise in treating pancreatic cancer—so much so that the company is launching a phase 1 study of the drug in combination with Merck’s blockbuster PD1 checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda.

Emergent BioSolutions said on Tuesday it will begin a Phase 3 trial of a new anthrax vaccine it is developing.

The Phase 3 trial will evaluate the lot consistency, immunogenicity, and safety of the vaccine, called AV7909. AV7909 is designed to elicit a faster immune response than other anthrax vaccines that are currently available.

There's new hope for patients who have blood diseases. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers say a new protocol offers the possibility of a cure. One patient who tried the treatment says it didn't just change her life, it saved it.

2018 was undoubtedly one of the most important years ever for biopharma, setting records for valuations and dealmaking. But a paper published in January called some of that exuberance into question, noting that many startups over the years have managed to become unicorns – with valuations of $1 billion or more – despite having little or no published, peer-reviewed data.

Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALT), a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company, today announced additional positive data from a Phase 2 extension study of its NasoVAX intranasal influenza vaccine candidate. Data from this study demonstrated that 100% of the evaluated subjects remained seroprotected, and the seroconversion rate was unchanged more than one year after vaccination.

It didn’t take long for the Trump administration to tap Ned Sharpless, now director of the National Cancer Institute, to take the reins at FDA for now—or for biopharma to hail the news. In fact, one team of analysts said the industry would “breathe a collective sigh of relief.”

Sonavex is first targeting the reconstructive surgery market with its new medical technology, which just earned its final FDA clearance.

Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc. (PGDx), a leader in cancer genomics, today announced that it has applied the CE mark to PGDx elio™ plasma resolve. It is the first kitted plasma-based NGS oncology test to have that certification, enabling greater access to genomic testing for cancer patients in Europe.