SNNLive spoke with Richard Bendis, President and CEO of BioHealth Innovation, Inc., a private company, at the BioMaryland Pavilion at the BIO International Convention 2017 in San Diego, CA.

In monetary terms, D.C.’s tech scene has been doing pretty well with investors lately: Local start-ups took in about $435 million between April and June 2017, compared with $298 million over the same period four years ago, according to Pitchbook investment data analyzed by the National Venture Capital Association.

Southern Maryland Entrepreneurs / small business owners! Join SMIT and the Startup Maryland STRT1UP Roadshow to pitch your technology concept, prototype, product or service innovation.

Since 2012, Startup Maryland has roamed the state celebrating entrepreneurs and giving them the opportunity to video tape their pitch on the Startup Maryland STRT1UP Roadshow pitch bus. Here's how it works: Entrepreneurs register to pitch at https://startupmd.typeform.com/to/cMTP0f, then prepare and practice practice practice a 3 minute pitch. When the bus arrives, entrepreneurs enter the bus where a video studio has been set up to capture thier pitch. Pitches are then edited and ready for viewing! Pitches are judged by a panel of expert serial entrepreneurs, investors and economic development officers and compete for the opportunity to be selected to pitch at other state-wide events such as TEDCO's Annual Entrepreneur Expo and other prizes.

George Mason University announced Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with six other Virginia research universities to advance the life sciences industry in the state.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the ACAM2000®, (Smallpox (Vaccinia) Vaccine, Live) business of Sanofi in an all-cash transaction with a total value of up to $125 million, consisting of $97.5 million upfront and up to $27.5 million in near-term contingent regulatory and manufacturing-related milestones.  

A Brooklyn-based biotech company was awarded $32.3 million in incentives over 10 years from the state’s Economic Development Authority to move its headquarters to the 116-acre former Hoffmann-La Roche North American headquarters campus on the border of Nutley and Clifton.

OpGen announced today that it has priced a previously announced $10 million public offering of 25 million units of common stock and common warrants at $.40 per unit.

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) would see its budget rise by US$1.1 billion in 2018, to $35.2 billion, under a spending proposal released on 12 July by lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

A new startup accelerator program based at the Johns Hopkins University’s FastForward East will target companies developing health and fitness technologies.

Hopkins is teaming up with the University of Maryland, Plank Industries, Brown Advisory and the Abell Foundation to launch the 16-week program, called M-1 Ventures, in September.

A Food and Drug Administration panel opened a new era in medicine on Wednesday, unanimously recommending that the agency approve the first-ever treatment that genetically alters a patient’s own cells to fight cancer, transforming them into what scientists call “a living drug” that powerfully bolsters the immune system to shut down the disease.

Who We Are

5 startups. 16 weeks. 1 mission.

M-1 Ventures is an accelerator for startups developing technologies that improve health outcomes, promote fitness and streamline health care. The program features mentorship from connected health and fitness experts at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland.

QIAGEN (Suzhou) Translational Medicine, a China precision medicine company, raised $25 million in a Series A funding led by Qiming Venture Partners. QIAGEN (Suzhou) was founded in 2013 by QIAGEN, a global molecular diagnostics company headquartered in Germany, and BioBay, the Suzhou life science technology park. It specializes in developing biomarkers and stratifying patients in clinical trials. QIAGEN (Suzhou) said it plans to use the new capital to build a factory and expand its scientific team.

Baltimore, Maryland-based Protenus, the company famously behind monthly Breach Barometers, is expanding its capabilities.

As part of a new effort, the organization will use its analytics platform to shed light on other problems in the world of healthcare. One example includes detecting suspected employee theft of prescription opiates.

The world's top medical technology companies are turning to robots to help with complex knee surgery, promising quicker procedures and better results in operations that often leave patients dissatisfied. Demand for artificial replacement joints is growing fast, as baby boomers' knees and hips wear out, but for the past 15 years rival firms have failed to deliver a technological advance to gain them significant market share.

The 17th annual New York Venture Summit, presented by youngStartup Ventures, is the premier industry gathering connecting venture capitalists, corporate VCs, angel investors, technology transfer professionals, senior executives of early stage and emerging growth companies, university researchers, incubators and premier service providers.

Whether you are an investor seeking access to new early stage deals, or a CEO or Founder of a new venture looking for funding, visibility and growth, New York Venture Summit is one event you won’t want to miss.

This isn’t your ordinary health care discussion. Quality Talks is a series of stirring, succinct talks by current and emerging health care leaders with ideas about how we can collaboratively improve American health care. In addition to the dynamic and thought-provoking speakers, the event features interactive dialogue among all attendees about advancing the health care system and improving patient care.

Quality Talks began in 2015 as part of NCQA’s 25th Anniversary and grew so successfully that NCQA made it an annual event. In 2016, this sold-out event was held at a larger venue which enabled us to reach an even wider audience. We hope to continue in 2017 with thought-provoking speakers and continuing the Quality Talks health care discussion.

FDA and AACR have successfully held Oncology Dose Finding Workshops in 2015 and 2016. Patient and dose selection of oncology drugs will be of critical importance, as recent approvals of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and early, promising readouts from studies combining ICIs with chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and other immuno-oncology agents will put enormous pressures on the current clinical trial infrastructure of the U.S. and the international community. A recent article in The Cancer Letter reported that 803 clinical trials currently testing PD-1 and PD-L1 drugs had over 160,000 slots for adult patients. As more ICIs enter the market, additional trials will seek to combine these products with standard of care therapies, novel small molecules, targeted antibodies, and other biologic therapies such as vaccines and engineered T-cells. This year’s workshop will focus on approaches to combination therapy and best practices regarding patient and dose selection, biomarkers to aid in selection, and novel endpoints that can define patient benefit.

Yesterday, the White House announced it was delaying and likely eliminating the International Entrepreneur Rule. This rule is the closest we’ve come to a Startup Visa, something I’ve been working on with numerous other people since 2009. Several failed bills in Congress, a failed bipartisan Senate comprehensive immigration reform bill, and an Executive Order later, and we still have nothing.

Business leaders, entrepreneurs, residents, students — share your success! We’re collecting stories of the remarkable people, places, ideas and innovations that define the county in our video series, We Are Montgomery County.

Patient outcomes are taking over from products and services as the focus of healthcare. But reorienting away from product development toward a holistic approach to patients demands the convergence of data from every part of the healthcare system. In this interview, part of our Biopharma Frontiers series on how the pharmaceutical industry is evolving, Jared Josleyn, global head of corporate development at Alphabet-owned Verily Life Sciences, talks with McKinsey’s Michele Raviscioni about the need to integrate health data and apply it to patients’ lives in ways that achieve enduring impact.

FEFA is a government contracting corporation and we have a current opening for a Technology Transfer Support Specialist with CRADA experience. The position is located in Silver Spring, MD. The candidate shall utilize knowledge of technology transfer law and regulatory requirements related to managing life science/medical research to provide advice, guidance, and assistance to Institute staff on issues relating to collaborative and other agreements, inventions, patents, licenses and other technology transfer matters.

The candidate shall also use excellent interpersonal skills in a team environment to prepare, review, and provide assistance with development of intergovernmental and technology transfer agreements to include interagency agreements (IAA), cooperative research and development agreements (CRADA), material transfer agreements (MTA), and nondisclosure agreements (NDA).

Defining a great entrepreneurship scene requires a delicate balance. Sure, there has to be a healthy atmosphere of investment and innovation to get people in, but to get them to stay is a whole ‘nother story. Great startup cities need to have a culture, voice and mission. It’s what defines them as unique, a place to go because it’s not only where your skill sets lie, but where you feel like you can help change the world.

Making the cut for a booming community is a culmination of the underdogs, the cities that others overlooked for safe bets. However, when there’s risk, there’s also reward, which is why these cities, in my estimation, are all about to break the mold.

The Fellowship in Government provides a unique public policy learning experience, demonstrates the value of science-government interaction and enhances public health science and practical knowledge in government. APHA is looking for candidates with strong public health credentials and an interest in serving as a staff person in the U.S. Congress. The fellowship is based in Washington, D.C. The fellow will have the option of working in the House or Senate on legislative and policy issues such as creating healthy communities, improving health equity, addressing environmental health concerns, population health or the social determinants of health. Much of the work developing public policy happens at the staff level, where these critical issues are not well understood or incorporated into the discussion. The fellow will have the opportunity to make an impact and improve the health of the public. 

The company plans to use the investment to complete clinical trials for their gene therapy products aimed at choroideremia, retinitis pigmentosa, and macular dystrophy.

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab’s latest space mission: Flying a satellite into an asteroid.

Scientists from the Laurel-based lab recently got the go-ahead from NASA to move forward on design of a spacecraft that could land on an asteroid, and deflect it from a collision course with Earth. The refrigerator-sized spacecraft would be the centerpiece of a mission called Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART.

PCI is pleased to announce the publication of the first-ever guide to commercialization at Penn. We created the Commercialization Guide so that faculty and external partners would have an easy and accessible reference to guide them in pursuing commercial partnerships and entrepreneurial activities at Penn. The guide provides both comprehensive and detailed information around working with PCI on all kinds of commercialization activities and it also covers key topics such as: Penn’s Patent Policy, creating a startup at Penn, the process for patenting intellectual property, disclosing conflicts of interest and other important topics for engaging in commercialization.

Rockville, MD-based Sucampo Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharmaceutical company which currently has one marketed product, Amitiza, in its portfolio.  Amitiza is approved for chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) in adults, irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) among adult women and opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with chronic non-cancer pain.

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, is creating the Alexandria Center® for AgTech – RTP — the initial phase of a premier multi-tenant mega campus in Research Triangle Park (RTP) — and is leading the cluster's evolution into a first-in-class AgTech ecosystem at the forefront of newly emerging innovations that address global hunger as it impacts human health. Located at 3054 East Cornwallis Road, which Alexandria recently acquired through an affiliate, the Alexandria Center for AgTech – RTP is adjacent to Alexandria's 6 Davis Drive, and the collective development of the two campuses will form a 1 million square foot-plus mega campus that will support the AgTech sector in its continued, dramatic growth. The first phase of the project is the strategic redevelopment of the Cornwallis site into 175,000 rentable square feet (RSF) of best-in-class office/laboratory and greenhouse facilities and a highly curated amenities center designed to foster innovation, drive productivity and enhance collaboration.

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) recently released a report on Bioscience Innovation in the States: Legislation and Job Creation through Public-Private Partnerships. This biennial report provides a good summary of state initiatives serving the industry plus a discussion of new developments and trends by state.

Join BioBuzz and sponsor Immunomic Therapeutics to celebrate the move from allergy to oncology application of their proprietary LAMP-Vax™ technology platform. The celebration will be at Bar Louie in the Rockville Town Center on July 27, 2017 from 5 - 7pm. Only a 5 minute walk from the Rockville Metro, please join us for this exciting event.

The Company:

Noble Life Sciences (Sykesville, MD) is a rapidly growing contract research organization (CRO) that provides preclinical drug, vaccine and medical device development services, from discovery to GLP-compliant studies for regulatory submissions. The company offers in vitro and in vivo services, including cellular and animal disease model development and experimental design, non-GLP and GLP animal efficacy, toxicity, biodistribution and product release studies in both small and large animals. The company also offers custom antibody production services, research animal and tissue products, and vivarium services.

The Position:

The representative will be responsible for selling preclinical services to new accounts in order to achieve sales targets, developing new sales in these accounts by monitoring customer's existing projects for successful completion to stated goals, and proposing related and new services as they monitor accounts needs for future CRO services.

The representative is expected to use his/her knowledge of the market and external contacts in companies developing drugs, vaccines, and medical devices to increase sales. The representative will implement sales and marketing strategy and tactics to gain new customers and achieve sales and profit goals in designated geographic territory.

Leslie Ford Weber, director of the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus, has been elected chair-elect of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.

Weber, who is also director of campus, government and community affairs in Montgomery County for the university and Suburban Hospital, previously served the Chamber as vice chair of the legislative affairs committee and will continue in that role as chair-elect.  Before that, she was vice chair of the economic development committee.

FULL-TIME POSITION:  

Job Summary: BioFactura is seeking highly motivated applicants with an entrepreneurial spirit for an open position in our biosimilar development programs.  We are looking for qualified candidates with a masters or doctoral degree in the life sciences with highly relevant skills and bench experience.  The selected candidate will participate in the development and validation of various biosimilar product assays. In this position, the candidate will be responsible for planning, conducting, execution and analysis of experiments using various techniques in protein analysis. Relevant skills include HPLC/U-HPLC (HILIC, RP, SEC, CEX, AEX, affinity), capillary electrophoresis (CE), mass spec, SDS-PAGE, IEF, ELISA, qPCR.  Knowledge of protein purification methods and process development/scale-up is a plus.  Knowledge of Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) including analytical method qualification/validation and current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) are desired.  Experience in the preparation and delivery of oral and written presentations as well as participation in the preparation and submission of grants and/or manuscripts for publication are a plus. Excellent communication skills and the ability to analyze and interpret data, design appropriately controlled experiments independently, and maintain up-to-date laboratory notebooks are a must. This is an excellent opportunity to gain valuable experience with an innovative, small, young Biotech company and build a career in the biopharmaceutical industry.  Candidates should feel comfortable working in a high risk/potential high reward environment and able to work overtime and weekends as project needs are determined.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Masters/Doctoral degree in life sciences
• Hands on experience in protein analytics (3-5 years)•  Excellent time management and proven ability to complete projects on time
• Excellent level of initiative and quest for knowledge
• Must be organized and self motivated
• Must have excellent communication and writing skills
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and Powerpoint etc.)
• Must love to learn! 

Benefits: BioFactura offers a competitive salary and benefit plan including health insurance (medical, dental & prescription) and a retirement plan with employer match.

Contact: Darryl Sampey, Ph.D.President and CEOBioFactura, Inc.8435 Progress Drive, Suite ZFrederick, MD 21701Cell:  240-620-3566Office:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

What if you could really understand what someone wanted? What if by asking the right questions and listening to the words another person uses, you could better understand what they wanted – even before they did? What if you could improve all your relationships?

Improved communication and a deeper understanding of motivation is possible. By learning a repeatable framework, based on language choices that expose unconscious motivation, you can experience being 'heard' and better understand others. Dr. Kristin Backstrom, from the Centers for Motivation, will share insights on how language choices express what drives and motivates individuals, helping you learn how to improve teamwork, reduce conflict, and achieve goals.

Y Combinator, Silicon Valley's best known start-up accelerator, thinks it has found a new type of biotechnology start-up.

Life-sciences companies come with a high risk of failure—often, the science behind a proposed invention isn't entirely proven, and turns out not to work. Because of this risk, the traditional way to fund early-stage life sciences companies is for a landmark East Coast investor, such as Third Rock or Flagship, to take a huge equity stake in the business and replace the founder with a seasoned executive. In exchange, it pumps tens of millions of dollars into the company over many years. It often takes more than a decade to generate a return.