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282nd Edition – December 5, 2017




BioHealth Innovation


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December 5, 2017



Children’s National Health System President and CEO Kurt Newman, M.D Interviewed on New Episode of BHI Podcast – BioTalk with Rich Bendis

Kurt Newman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Children’s National Health System joins Rich Bendis to discuss quality of care, medical innovation, and the future of healthcare. Since 1984, Dr. Newman has gone from Surgical Fellow to President and CEO at Children’s. He has championed innovations in the health system for both physical and mental health.

Listen now on iTunes , Google Play , and TuneIn.

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Immunomic Therapeutics’ Founder Appointed to Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board | Business Wire

Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. (ITI), a privately held, Maryland-based biotechnology company is pleased to announce Immunomic’s founder and CEO, William Hearl, Ph.D., has been appointed by Governor Larry Hogan to the Maryland Department of Commerce Life Sciences Advisory Board (LSAB).

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Avantor® Completes Acquisition of VWR

Avantor, Inc., a global supplier of ultra-high-purity materials for the life sciences and advanced technology industries, today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of VWR Corporation (NASDAQ: VWR), the leading global independent provider of product, supply chain, and service solutions to laboratory and production customers. VWR will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avantor. Michael Stubblefield, Chief Executive Officer of Avantor, will lead the combined company.

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The Washington Business Journal Recognizes Emmes in Two ’Top Company’ Lists

The Emmes Corporation today announced that it was named one of the top women-owned businesses in the Washington metropolitan area by the Washington Business Journal.  The company was ranked as the seventh largest women-owned business in the Washington region, up from number eight last year.

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Merck and Qiagen to expand in U.K.

U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co. and German diagnostics firm Qiagen are separately planning major investments in the U.K. The moves accompany a raft of British government measures intended to bolster the life sciences sector as the country prepares to leave the European Union.

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Mimetas OrganoPlate®

Complex tissues. Surprisingly simple.

Enabling you to study complex 3D tissue biology in a simple device, that’s our goal. With perfused vessels, co-culture and optimized microenvironments. So easy to use that you forget you’re working with a highly advanced 3D culture platform. With the OrganoPlate®, we believe we’ve reached that goal. Say hello to the future of 3D tissue models.

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PhaseBio Enters Worldwide License Agreement with MedImmune for a Reversal Agent for Ticagrelor | Markets Insider

PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for the treatment of orphan diseases, today announced that the Company has entered an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, for PB2452 (formerly MEDI2452), a Phase 1-ready reversal agent for ticagrelor.

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Lab space in Maryland

Are you seeking lab space in Maryland? Limited incubator and small (1,200-3,400 sq. ft.) lab space is available directly and through subleases in various locations from Montgomery County to Hagerstown, Frederick to Baltimore. For more information regarding this space, contact BHI@BioHealthInnovation.org.

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Barbara Crews to be Named Chair of Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber – News – Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus

Barbara Crews, assistant executive director for community relations at the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus, has been tapped to serve as chair of the board of the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce.

Crews previously served the Chamber as a board member; vice chair for member recruitment and retention; and most recently as chair-elect. She has been involved with the Chamber since 2014.

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DC Startup News: Tech Startup Funding, Investment in November

In covering the D.C. innovation economy comes the inevitable: funding news. Trust us, there’s a lot of it floating around the D.C. metro area. Here’s a roundup of all of the major funding news from the region in November:

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Johns Hopkins researchers crack key part of mystery surrounding proteins

What makes the body of a person or any other organism work can for the most part be summed up in a word: proteins.

These big molecules carry out almost all processes in living organisms, including moving other molecules from one place to another, replicating DNA, conveying genetic information from genes to cells, controlling immune response, driving metabolism and building muscle. Not all protein molecules are created equal, though, and some are better understood than others.

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Roche launches HyperCap Target Enrichment Portfolio, a fully integrated and streamlined NGS sample

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today the launch of the HyperCap Target Enrichment Portfolio, a streamlined and fully integrated NGS sample preparation. HyperCap integrates KAPA DNA Library Prep with SeqCap EZ target enrichment portfolio, and is a further expansion of the HyperCap v1.0 workflow.

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Wharton and Angel Capital Association Study Changes Perceptions About the Investors Behind U.S. Startup Economy

The American Angel, a new comprehensive national study released today, provides a detailed picture of angel investors, who they are, where they live, and how they make investment decisions. Key findings include:

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Venture bets on startups yield more returns

When Venture Capitalists (VCs) invest in startups, they are aware of risks involved in returns- it might be either mind-boggling or they might end up taking a lot of losses. But VC hits are much talked about and at the same time, not all predictions come true. Some venture capital firms make successful exits and it shows the growth of the startup ecosystem.

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Why is net neutrality important? – The Johns Hopkins News-Letter

The internet has become a crucial gateway for accessing information. Just look around Brody Café or wherever you’re reading this piece: People are writing papers, conducting research, reading articles, buying a new pair of shoes or watching TV, all through the internet. Whether it is education, business or entertainment, the internet has become a practical necessity for us to engage in society today. For our democracy and economy to function, it is paramount that people have equal access to the internet.

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Doing Biotech in My Bedroom – MIT Technology Review

In a spare bedroom of his family’s house in County Cork, Ireland, Cathal Garvey is repeating the feats that led to the dawn of the biotechnology age. He’s growing bacteria. He’s adding DNA. He’s seeing what happens.

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The 25 Best Graduate Programs for Entrepreneurship in 2017

The Princeton Review looked at more than 2,000 colleges and universities to find the best ones that will set entrepreneurs up for success.

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Newest Halcyon Incubator Cohort Tackling Top Current Social Issues

Halcyon, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting early-stage social entrepreneurs, today announces its eighth cohort for the Halcyon Incubator program. With an acceptance rate of less than 3%, Halcyon is bringing social enterprises that focus on big ideas tackling some of the most current and prevalent societal issues today.

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Final BioBuzz of 2017 with BHI – December 20th

When: Wednesday, December 20, 2017 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Where: Bar Louie 150 Gibbs St Rockville, MD 20850

Join BioBuzz and annual sponsor Biohealth Innovation, Inc. to celebrate the holiday season and last BioBuzz event of the year. The celebration will be at Bar Louie in the Rockville Town Center on December 20th, 2017 from 5 – 7pm. Only a 5 minute walk from the Rockville Metro, please join us for this exciting event.

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HHS nominee Alex Azar talks drug pricing and ACA politics – MedCity News

As secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Alex Azar would oversee a trillion-dollar budget, over 90,000 employees, and a healthcare system that is ground-zero for heated bipartisan politics.

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Medical firm launches $10M venture capital fund | 2017-11-28 | Grand Rapids Business Journal

A medical device developer has created a $10-million venture capital fund to support early stage health care companies.

Holland-based Genesis Innovation Group said today it established the privately funded cultivate(MD) Capital Fund I, LLC, which will focus on medical device and orthopedic technologies.

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Cleveland Clinic Unveils Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2018 – Cleveland Clinic Innovations

An artificial pancreas to help diabetics. A pacemaker for sleep apnea. Gene therapy for blindness. These are some of the innovations that will enhance healing and change healthcare in the coming year, according to a distinguished panel of doctors and researchers.

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Trump administration proposes ‘kidney innovation accelerator program’ | TheHill

Recent news surrounding the nation’s growing opioid epidemic has demonstrated how an all-hands-on-deck approach is needed when a serious national health crisis threatens the lives of Americans. The Trump administration declared opioid abuse a public health emergency, and lawmakers have enacted legislation to expand treatment and prevention programs, as well as prosecute individuals who commit opioid-related health care fraud.

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Towson University’s new science building will create ‘completely different environment’ on campus – Baltimore Business Journal

Towson University officials are envisioning the college’s new $184 million science building as essentially the exact opposite of Smith Hall, the building that currently holds most of Towson’s science classes.

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Inova Personalized Health Accelerator Accepts HeMemics Biotechnologies, Inc. into Portfolio

Inova Personalized Health Accelerator (IPHA) has selected HeMemics Biotechnologies, Inc. (HBI) as its first portfolio company. HBI is a research and development company located in Rockville, MD that develops rapid diagnostic test platforms to detect various bacterial and viral pathogens. The company’s technology detects, within 15 seconds, the absence or presence of a specific virus or bacterium when an aqueous sample is placed on an electronic chip. HeMemics invented and patented “HemSol™,” a method to preserve cells and biological entities for an extended period of time. The preservation method in conjunction with the low cost HeMemics prototype electronic chip and portable, battery-powered reading device are designed to be deployed for Point of Care (POC) diagnostics. Typically, pathogen detection involves laboratory analysis which delays inpatient treatment or requires a return visit for outpatients.

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