The Jackson Laboratory has been awarded a $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop an epigenome modification technology for studying gene regulation in biological processes and disease states.

PepVax, Inc., an early-stage biotechnology company, announced today that it has successfully completed the efficacy study for its lead candidate, PVX-009. The Company is harnessing the power of the immune system to target a specific protein, MAGE A, in an effort to find a treatment for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Icon has hired a retired colonel who is moving into the biotech sphere as new president of its subsidiary ClinicalRM. James Cummings, M.D., will lead the CRO’s unit, which helps provide research to a range of U.S. federal health agencies.

Precision for Medicine, part of Precision Medicine Group, today announced it is expanding its biomarker data management and translational informatics services into Europe. The addition of a Geneva, Switzerland-based team of experts complements Precision's US offerings to provide clients with truly global translational research services. The Geneva team also gives Precision another European operational base, continuing Precision's active international expansion.

REGENXBIO Inc. (Nasdaq:RGNX) and AveXis, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVXS) today announced that they have entered into an amendment which expands upon the exclusive, worldwide license agreement they entered into in March 2014 (2014 License Agreement) for the development and commercialization of products to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). AveXis’ initial proprietary gene therapy candidate, AVXS-101, is in a pivotal trial for the treatment of SMA Type 1, and a Phase 1 trial for SMA Type 2. AVXS-101 uses REGENXBIO’s NAV AAV9 vector.

Qiagen has announced a new partnership with DiaSorin that will allow the companies to offer new automated tuberculosis detection capabilities for their customers.

Pfizer, one of the world’s largest drug companies, announced over the weekend that it would stop work on new drugs to fight Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. The reason? Pfizer believes that research on the two diseases doesn’t make sense financially.

Voluntis and WellDoc®, two of the industry’s leading digital therapeutics companies, announced today a commercial agreement aimed at combining Voluntis’ insulin titration technology with WellDoc’s extensive digital coaching platform to create a holistic digital diabetes management solution for patients, providers, health systems and health plans.

Explore the infographic to discover key insights from the upcoming 4Q PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.  For a complete analysis of VC activity, sign up to receive the full report—we’ll send it to you as soon as it publishes on Jan. 17.

Grants up to $1 million are available from the US-Israel Bi-national R&D (BIRD) Foundation to support new product development R&D, conducted as a joint project between American and Israeli companies. The grants are only to be repaid if the resulting technology successfully achieves sales in the market. BIRD's wide-ranging scope extends to Agriculture, Communications, Life Sciences, Electronics, Software, Homeland Security, Renewable and Alternative Energy and more. The Maryland/Israel Development Center (MIDC) coordinates the BIRD program for our state.

TAI Diagnostics, a developer of diagnostic tests for monitoring the health of transplanted organs, said on Monday that it has closed a $10 million Series A preferred equity financing.

Greater Washington had its second-biggest venture funding year in at least a decade in 2017, with startups across the metro area raking in more than $1.55 billion.

The pharma and biotech industry will send billions of dollars back to the United States as a result of President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul, Alexandria Real Estate (ARE) Chairman Joel Marcus said on Monday.

Alexandria Venture Investments, the strategic venture capital arm of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), an urban office REIT uniquely focused on collaborative life science and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, today announced the formal launch of the Alexandria Seed Capital Platform, an innovative funding model that brings together leaders from across the life science community to catalyze seed-stage investment in the most promising life science startups.

Roche Holding AG (ROG.EB) said Monday that it has entered into a strategic partnership with GE Healthcare to jointly develop and market a digital clinical-decision support platform.

RightEye LLC, an award-winning technology innovator using eye tracking to revolutionize patient care and vision performance, announced today it will be debuting its new RightEye EyeQ system tonight at CES Unveiled Las Vegas at 5:00 p.m. at the Mandalay Bay Shorelines Exhibit Hall in Las Vegas, Nevada. EyeQ gives people a closer look at their health using quick, computer game-style vision tests on an eye-tracking computer. The tests, which only take a few minutes, generate an instant EyeQ Report that provides results in an easy-to-understand format to support discussion with doctors on diagnosis and recommended therapies. 

The use of biomaterials, such as microneedles and nanoparticles, in immunotherapy and vaccine research is a hot topic in bioengineering. But to get the maximum return on investment in these ideas, they need to be seeded among clinicians, according to Christopher Jewell, Ph.D., associate professor in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland. Jewell is the principal author on a new paper in Trends in Immunology that reviews the current state of biomaterials research with an eye toward inspiring multidisciplinary teams of engineers and clinicians to solve some of the complex problems in immunology today.

A drug development company has raised $76 million from investors in China, the United States, and Korea to move its headquarters to the Philadelphia area from Jinan, China, and bring treatments developed by China-based scientists through U.S. clinical testing to patients here.

A Baltimore startup developing artificial organ technology has raised about $3 million in equity funding, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents.

Medical device firm Breethe Inc. reported the round this month, which included 22 investors.

Emmes is proud to have advanced Glaucoma research w/ support from @NatEyeInstitute! Our 1st ophthalmic trial (published in @AmJOphthalmol) showed little visual field deterioration in pts w/ low intraocular pressure

The GammaPod ™ – a first-of-its kind stereotactic radiotherapy system to treat early stage breast cancer – has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), paving the way for the manufacturer to bring the system to market for the treatment of breast cancer patients.

MacroGenics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MGNX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, as well as various autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases, announced today that it had entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. to jointly discover and develop novel bispecific molecules to undisclosed targets. During the research term, both companies will leverage their respective platforms, including MacroGenics' DART® platform and Roche's CrossMAb and DutaFab technologies to select a bispecific format and lead product candidate. Roche would then further develop and commercialize any such product candidate.

Currently, we depend upon the eyes, ears, and touch of medical staff to examine the human body and diagnose patients. Physicians must identify abnormalities of the skin, check for any bodily irregularities, examine complex MRIs, listen for arrhythmias, and inspect CT scans day in and day out. While all of these tasks seem routine, they actually test physicians’ knowledge about everything that could possibly be wrong with the human body.

2017 was an extraordinary year in the history of medicine. It was the year when scientists beat cancer, and U.S. regulators approved the first therapy to fix a faulty gene. It was also a year that kept us enthralled with a quickening drumbeat of breathtaking news detailing spectacular advances – trials seemingly curing patients of hemophilia A and sickle cell anemia, and breakthroughs raising similar hopes for Huntington’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and even HIV.

It’s hard to believe that the book has already closed on 2017. As we turn the calendar to 2018, I wanted to pause and share some highlights from MdBio’s monumental last twelve months. Partners, supporters and STEM advocates like you are instrumental to our success – thank you for all that you have done in support of MdBio and our programs.

The 4th annual Biotech and Money/Medtech and Money World Congress will offer insight into the investment landscape for biotech and medtech companies via a series of panel discussions with leading investors in the sector. Those attending the two-day event in London can hear from experienced investors about the current state of funding for life science companies at varying stages of development. This includes a focus on seed funding, with panel discussions on ‘Seed funding for biotech development’ and ‘PanEuropean medtech seed funding’.

Alexandria Real Estate recently completed a large building on the west side of Lake Union and now it's starting to plan one on Eastlake.

Blockchain startup Akiri has received $10 million in Series A funding to develop a distributed ledger platform for health data.

Personal Genome Diagnostics, a Baltimore-based cancer diagnostics company, has raised $75 million to expand access to genomic testing for cancer patients.

More than ever, academic technology transfer is driving economic development.

• The number of invention disclosures — a direct measure of institutional impact on innovation — has been on the rise the past five years, growing to 25,825 in 2016.
• 16,487 new U.S. patent applications were filed, a gain of 3 percent over the prior year, and 7,021 U.S. patents were issued, up 5 percent from last year.
• The 1,024 startups formed made a direct impact on local economies with more than 73 percent of these new businesses remaining in the institution’s home state.
• Consumers and businesses benefited from 800 new products.

Originally, the BIVF was designed to put investments of up to €10-15m into early stage companies focused on immunomodulation, tissue regeneration, small and large molecule drugs, and new therapeutic modalities. The fund, launched in 2010, had a volume of €100m, 22 portfolio companies from which already one exited (Okairos).

Cancer research helmed by a Johns Hopkins radiation oncology professor is the first to receive backing from a fund backing work that might create startups.

Canton-based Personal Genome Diagnostics closed on $75 million in Series B funding and plans to triple its square footage with a new office.

WellDoc®, a leading digital health company, announced today that its clinically proven hemoglobin A1C reductions for users of its BlueStar® digital therapeutic with type 2 diabetes can translate into significant healthcare cost savings.

Silver Spring, Md.-based United Therapeutics Corp. and the FDA are duking it out in court over whether the agency improperly denied the biotechnology company seven years of orphan drug exclusivity for its drug Orenitram.