In what can be termed as a milestone in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), a vaccine by pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) could be the first new jab against the infectious disease developed in a century.

The United States is rated as the world’s most competitive economy according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2018, which is published by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The World Economic Forum sponsors the well publicized and invitation only annual meeting at Davos, in the Swiss Alps each winter.

The Prix Galien USA Committee last night honored excellence in the biopharmaceutical and medical industry for research, development and innovation at its 12th annual Prix Galien Awards Gala, held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In recognition of the development and discovery of products that improve the human condition, a committee of highly accomplished scientific leaders, inclusive of four Novel Laureates, recognized winners in three categories: "Best Pharmaceutical Product," "Best Biotechnology Product," and "Best Medical Technology." This year, the Committee has chosen two winners in the Biotechnology category.

United Therapeutics is putting millions more toward an effort to pioneer organ manufacturing and transplantation.

One year ago this week, President Donald J. Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. Ever since, the Trump Administration has applied an all-of-Government approach to the epidemic, allowing each agency and department to do their part to help the cause.

Gotham Therapeutics launched in New York with a $54 million Series A financing. The round was co-led by founding investor Versant Ventures, Forbion and S.R. One. The investment syndicate included Celgene Corporation and Alexandria Venture Investments.

The growing availability of real-world data has generated tremendous excitement in health care. By some estimates, health data volumes are increasing by 48% annually, and the last decade has seen a boom in the collection and aggregation of this information. Among these data, electronic health records (EHRs) offer one of the biggest opportunities to produce novel insights and disrupt the current understanding of patient care.

President Trump on Thursday blasted pharmaceutical companies for having “rigged the system” against American consumers by charging higher prices in the U.S. than they do abroad, announcing a new proposal he says will help even out those differences.

By Rich Bendis and Brian Darmody

While Maryland boasts world-class universities and many private sector firms, the major reason it ranks No. 1 in the country in per capita research spending is the presence of 74 federal research laboratories, such as the National Institutes of Health.

One of the gating factors in studying the human brain is having the ability to conduct research on actual functioning human brain tissue. As a result, many scientific studies are conducted on rodents as a mammalian proxy. The drawback to this approach is that rodent brains are different in structure and function. According to Johns Hopkins, structurally, the human brain is approximately 30 percent neurons and 70 percent glia, while the mouse brain has the opposite ratio [1].

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) awarded to Michael Fox, M.D., Ph.D., of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School the inaugural Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists (Trailblazer Prize) at the FNIH Annual Fall Board Dinner in Washington, D.C. Dr. Fox received the Trailblazer Prize and a $10,000 honorarium for pioneering innovative techniques to map human brain connectivity that can be translated into new treatments for neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and depression. The Trailblazer Prize is made possible by a generous donation from John I. Gallin, M.D., and Elaine Gallin, Ph.D., to the FNIH.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine plans to cut the ribbon on the university system’s largest academic building ever Wednesday, a $305 million tower on Baltimore Street that officials say will vastly expand the institution’s ability to understand and treat diseases.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new antiviral influenza treatment.

Johns Hopkins’ Social Innovation Lab is kicking off a new cohort of early-stage social enterprises addressing challenges around education, health and blight, among others.

Thrombocytopenia is a big word that can carry big consequences for those struggling with rare blood disorders, especially among those using heparin to treat and prevent blood clots. But, help is on the way. The National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recently awarded VERALOX Therapeutics, a small molecule drug discovery and development company, a $319,133 Small Business Innovation Research grant to develop a novel therapeutic for patients suffering from heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (HIT/HITT).

AstraZeneca, and its global biologics research and development arm MedImmune, today announced a new multi-term agreement with Innate Pharma (Innate), building on an existing collaboration, aimed at accelerating each company’s oncology portfolio and bringing new medicines to patients more quickly. The extended collaboration will enrich AstraZeneca’s immuno-oncology (IO) portfolio with pre-clinical and clinical potential new medicines.

Developers qualify if they fill buildings with biotech and cyber firms.

The chief executive will stay in his role, and on the board, until his successor is appointed or early next year, whichever comes first.

he man was 66 when he came to the hospital with a serious skin infection. He had a fever and low blood pressure, as well as a headache. His doctors gave him a brain scan just to be safe. They found a very small bulge in one of his cranial arteries, which probably had nothing to do with his headache or the infection.

American Gene Technologies (AGT), a leading gene and cell therapy company in the discovery and development of lentiviral vector based therapeutics, announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received orphan-drug designation #DRU-2018-6572 for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU) using its proprietary, lentiviral vector based technology. PKU is a debilitating inherited disease affecting 1 in 13,500 children born in the U.S. Mandatory screening identifies affected children who can be supported with a strict synthetic diet that does not cure disease. If successful, AGT's lentiviral vector approach will provide a permanent cure, improving quality of life for more than 16,000 people living with PKU in the U.S. alone.

PathoVax, a Johns Hopkins–born startup developing a vaccine for human papillomavirus virus (HPV), raised $2.75 million in new funding, cofounder Joshua Wang said.

United Therapeutics will license, develop, and commercialize CollPlant Holdings’ recombinant human collagen (rhCollagen) and BioInk technology for 3D bioprinting of solid-organ scaffolds for human transplants, the companies said today, through a collaboration that could generate more than $44 million.

REGENXBIO Inc. (Nasdaq: RGNX), a leading clinical-stage biotechnology company seeking to improve lives through the curative potential of gene therapy based on its proprietary NAV® Technology Platform, today announced that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has exercised an option for an exclusive worldwide license to REGENXBIO's NAV Vectors, including NAV AAV9, for the treatment of CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder (CDD).

Children benefit from little of the $156 billion annual U.S. market for medical devices, but a “Shark Tank”-inspired partnership between the University of Maryland and Children’s National Health System is looking to change that.

Jean Cui led the invention of Pfizer's Xalkori. Now she has her own company focusing on drug-resistant cancers, and it has raised $147 million.

Investors sentiment decreased to 1.37 in 2018 Q2. Its down 0.26, from 1.63 in 2018Q1. It dived, as 22 investors sold GlycoMimetics, Inc. shares while 16 reduced holdings. 25 funds opened positions while 27 raised stakes. 45.91 million shares or 6.89% more from 42.95 million shares in 2018Q1 were reported.

Viela Bio heads to the 2018 American College of Rheumatology / Association of Rheumatology for Health Professionals (ACR/ARHP) Annual Meeting in Chicago, 19-24 October 2018, with a late-breaking poster presentation for a novel engineered CD40L antagonist, VIB4920.

Meet the physicians, scientists, and business and political leaders whose work is transforming health care right now

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is doing everything from sharing more data to cultivating entrepreneurial talent and engaging in partnerships in order to support medical device innovators, the department’s CTO Ed Simcox told than 100 industry insiders in the Twin Cities today.

VLP Therapeutics announced the issuance of US Patent 10,098,943 titled, “Flavivirus virus-like particle” on October 16, 2018. This patent supports VLP Therapeutics’ Native Virus Modification virus-like particle platform on which the Company’s dengue vaccine is based and which could form the basis for other flavivirus vaccines. The patent relates to a virus-like particle vaccine comprising flavivirus structural proteins to prevent or treat flavivirus infection. Flavivirus includes dengue virus, West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis, hepatitis C virus, and Zika virus.

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: RNN) today announced it has entered into definitive agreements with institutional investors to purchase approximately 5.77 million shares of its common stock and warrants exercisable for up to approximately 5.77 million shares of its common stock for gross proceeds of approximately $7.5 million. The shares and warrants are being sold in units, each consisting of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase one share of common stock, at an offering price of $1.30 per unit. The warrants will be exercisable six months following the date of issuance, will expire on the fifth anniversary of the initial exercise date and will have an exercise price of $1.67 per share. The closing of the offering is expected to take place on or about October 19, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Top 3 by 2023

State of the BioHealth Capital Region’s EcoSystem

Rich Bendis

President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation Inc.

Pharma hasn’t traditionally been known as a sector that welcomed innovation from the outside. But now companies are putting “not invented here” bias aside as they seek to widen their aperture for innovation.

Based in Rockville, MD

Management Recruiters – Mid Hudson Valley is an executive search firm focused solely in serving the nonprofit sector.  We have a national practice and the large majority of our placements are executive leadership and senior fundraising professionals.

Our client is Montgomery College, a community college of more than 60,000 students in Montgomery County, MD. The College is seeking a Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations who also serves as the Executive Director of the Montgomery College Foundation. The position is a College employee.

The Cybersecurity Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAMI) and Universities at Shady Grove invite you to attend their November 9 & 10 Maryland Cybersecurity Career & Education Fair.

Maryland is at the forefront of our nation’s rapidly growing cyber market and opportunities abound for professionals in our region—both those who are new to the field, and long-time members of the industry. Join us at the Universities at Shady Grove for two dynamic days that put on display why Maryland is where cyber works. Friday will feature a career and education fair, connecting cybersecurity job seekers with opportunities across the state of Maryland. Those looking to expand their cybersecurity competency can also connect on-site with Maryland education and training resource. On Saturday, cyber warriors of high school through undergraduate skill levels are invited to compete in our "Catch the Phish: An AI Capture the Flag Event" cyber challenge.