Biopharma companies have long been looking for a way to go beyond the molecule/pill.The nascent but growing digital therapeutics industry set to grow to $10 billion by 2023 may be guiding that way forward, according to a panel discussion on the second day of the DTx (Digital Therapeutics) West conference in San Mateo, California.

Albert Bourla told a US Senate hearing that other nations are "free-riding on American innovation".

Funding for the Bethesda-based National Institutes of Health is up by 14 percent during the two years that President Donald Trump has been in the White House — but it’s despite and not because of the president, according to Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen.

When: Wednesday, March 13, 2019 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Where: Bar Louie 150 Gibbs St Rockville, MD 20850

Join BioBuzz and Founding Sponsor JHU MoCo for our next exciting event of 2019 at Bar Louie in Rockville on March 13th. 

Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc. (PGDx), a leader in cancer genomics, announced today that it has added two new members to its Board of Directors, Dr. Kavita Patel and Garry Allen Nicholson. Dr. Patel and Mr. Nicholson bring significant healthcare expertise that is aligned with and can further empower PGDx’s corporate growth strategy of driving global access to precision medicine in oncology.

For every AstraZeneca, there are hundreds of small biotech startups and scores of life science innovators that are critical to growing the BioHealth Capital Region. For every new biotech flush with investment cash, scores of smart, entrepreneur-scientists with great ideas and technology struggle to find regional funding partners.

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a unique, noninvasive blood test that detects proteins and gene mutations from eight common cancers. The test, called CancerSEEK, screens for cancers that account for more than 60 percent of U.S. cancer deaths.

In late 2017, Baltimore-based healthcare startup Protenus was reverberating from a year of growth.

Dr. Darryl Sampey has been through the grind as CEO of Frederick’s BioFactura, a thriving biotech company that’s a key part of the BioHealth Capital Region’s second largest biotech hub. On a rainy, cold February night at FITCI, Sampey shared BioFactura’s compelling story during a “fireside chat” hosted by StartUp Grind’s Frederick chapter.

The company has already raised about $40 million to date.

I was dubious when Crystal Icenhour approached me to write about her medical testing company.

The National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI) is now accepting applications for its "Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!" competition. The competition is focused on pediatric devices developed for use in the orthopedic and spine sector, an area of critical need which lacks innovation. Winning companies receive awards up to $50,000 and are invited to participate in the newly created NCC-PDI "Pediatric Device Innovator Accelerator Program" led by MedTech Innovator.

In November 2015, infectious disease epidemiologist Steffanie Strathdee and her husband, evolutionary psychologist Tom Patterson, were spending the week of Thanksgiving exploring pyramids and pharaoh’s tombs in Egypt when Patterson came down with what seemed like a nasty bout of food poisoning aboard their cruise ship. But as his condition rapidly deteriorated and he had to be emergency medevac’d, first to Germany and then to the medical center at UC San Diego, where both scientists were on staff, blood and imaging tests revealed why Patterson’s body was failing. A soccer-ball-sized cyst in his abdomen was infected—teeming with one of the most dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the world.

The National Cancer Institute’s investment in small business research grants has supported strong economic growth, including $9 billion in sales of new technologies.

Justin Klein, as a former investor with NEA, helped lead PGDx’s $21.4 million Series A in 2015 and its $75 million Series B last year.

The biotech sector has been a strong performer in 2019 after becoming quite oversold during the plunge in the high-beta parts of the market in the fourth quarter of 2018. Helping the sector recover and get off to a raucous start to the New Year were large buyouts of Celgene Corp(CELG) and Loxo Oncology Inc(LOXO) to start 2019, both with significan...

In a $4.8 billion deal, Swiss life sciences giant Roche has agreed to acquire Spark Therapeutics, a University City-based developer of gene therapy treatment for genetic ailments.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)’s recently announced $4.2 billion partnership to co-develop and co-commercialize Merck KGaA, Darmstadt’s cancer immunotherapy candidate M7824 was a reminder of just how much biopharma giants are willing to invest in a therapeutic area that has generated sometimes-dazzling results.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

RoosterBio, Inc, a privately held regenerative medicine manufacturing platform technology company announced plans today to expand the company’s footprint in Frederick, MD after a year of rapid growth.

Matt Kalnik wants to make smoking less addictive.

His clinical-stage company, Gaithersburg-based Antidote Therapeutics Inc., is developing a drug that would diminish the effects of nicotine in the body — to both treat diseases worsened by nicotine and help smokers quit. The businesses is looking to raise between $5 million and $10 million to run over the next two years and get its lead candidate to clinical trials.

The Maryland Momentum Fund is a newly-created mechanism for investing in promising early stage companies associated with the University System of Maryland (USM). Maryland-based companies that are seeking equity financing or debt financing  that is convertible into equity may apply.  The funding provided by the Fund will normally be in the range of $150K-$250K, with a ceiling of $500K.  Recipients of this funding must obtain a matching investment (1:1) within six months, in either direction, from the date of commitment by the Fund.

The Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship offers in-depth measures, reports, and accompanying interactive data visualizations that present entrepreneurial trends in the United States.

A life sciences-focused venture capital firm based near Boston has raised more than one-third of a billion dollars to invest in early-stage companies.

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) announced today the formation of the Task Force for Women Entrepreneurs. The task force will be dedicated to the recruitment, funding, and operational support of women-owned and-led startups in Maryland.

When Tom Shicowich’s toe started feeling numb in 2010, he brushed it off as a temporary ache. At the time, he didn’t have health insurance, so he put off going to the doctor. The toe became infected, and he got so sick that he stayed in bed for two days with what he assumed was the flu. When he finally saw a doctor, the physician immediately sent Shicowich to the emergency room. Several days later, surgeons amputated his toe, and he ended up spending a month in the hospital to recover.

Amazon changed the rules of economic development when it announced a 50,000-job HQ2 sweepstakes in 2017. While most searches for large facilities happen behind closed doors, the Seattle tech giant kicked off an unprecedented, high-stakes, public battle for its next corporate home.

Novartis scatters its VC seeds widely by leading rounds across a variety of therapy areas, although oncology still represents a big share of its funding activity.

The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) is now certified to offer a groundbreaking treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in which a patient’s own immune cells are genetically engineered to recognize and attack the cancer.

Maryland has the most computer and data scientists in the U.S., and the second-highest concentrations of engineers and life scientists.

Microsoft outlined how emerging technologies can support diagnosis of rare diseases among children in a report released Feb. 20.

Rare diseases affect almost 350 million people globally, and they can take an average of five years to diagnose, according to the report.

Under a new licensing deal, Qiagen will gain access to a big genetics database from Vienna-based Ares Genetics, which could help tackle the global health crisis of antibiotic resistance.  

To spare you all a power point presentation, I thought I’d share some thoughts today about how and why our tech transfer system was created and the importance of practitioners continually developing best practices to maintain it.

Woody Allen said that half of life is showing up. Perhaps the other half is working with people who give you the opportunity to show what you can do.

Are you a start-up in Maryland, DC or Virginia seeking feedback on your biohealth business idea, pitch deck, or commercialization plan?  Sign up by noon 3/26 to schedule your feedback session with BHI Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, who have industry experience in therapeutics, Dx, medtech and more, next Wednesday, February 27th.  (Future sessions scheduled for 3/20 and 5/22.)  Pre-registration is required; sign up here ("EIR resource" at BHI).  For questions/more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Kelly M. Schulz, the newly appointed state secretary of commerce, could be called the secretary of opportunity. Her vision for the state of Maryland is for economic development, job growth, full employment and economic prosperity for all families around the state.