322nd Edition – September 25, 2018

BioHealth Capital Region moves up one spot to number four, closing in on our goal to be a Top 3 by 2023.

What makes a top-tier biopharma cluster? The standard answers involve a critical mass of resources including the brightest scientific and business minds capable of attracting public and private funding; powerhouse universities and healthcare systems, with endowments reaching into the billions; research institutes, often named for billionaire benefactors; and drug and tools & technology developers that can translate investment into net income.

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Dr. Bill Hearl is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. (“ITI”).  He is an experienced and successful scientific businessman and bio-entrepreneur, having founded both ITI and formerly Capital Genomix in 2000.   Dr. Hearl has moved ITI steadily forward from an initial license agreement with the Geron Corporation in 2006 to an animal health license in 2012 and then most recently to two license deals with Astellas Pharma for the treatment of allergies, one for Japanese red cedar and a second global allergy license.  The second deal brought ITI an upfront payment of $300,000,000 and established the Company as one of the leading entities in nucleic acid research.   Dr. Hearl funded the Company by following a strategy of seeking a series of angel investment rounds which raised in aggregate over $12 million to drive the development of its allergy products.   Prior to founding ITI and Capital Genomix, he was a senior executive at Kirkegaard & Perry Labs and then held various R&D positions at Life Technologies and Pharmacia.   Dr. Hearl holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Tennessee (Oak Ridge & Knoxville) and holds multiple patents in the field of gene immunization.

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The Maryland Tech Council (MTC), the state’s largest trade association supporting the technology and life sciences sectors, today announced the appointment of Marty Rosendale as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately.

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Join us for the 5th Annual BioBowl! You and your company team will be competing against other biotech firms to win the coveted BioBowl Trophy! But first you have to RSVP to claim your spot in the competition.

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Six companies presenting innovative medical devices that address significant unmet needs in pediatric healthcare were awarded a total of $150,000 in grants yesterday in Philadelphia, Penn.at the Sixth Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposiumorganized by the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Health System.

The “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition this year focused on pediatric cardiovascular devices, an area where new devices can make a life-changing difference, especially for younger children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 40,000 children are born annually in the U.S. with a congenital heart defect (CHD) and approximately 1 million U.S. children currently live with a CHD.

The pitch competition was originally slated to award $100,000 in grants; however, because of the judges’ response to the quality and potential of the technologies presented, Children’s National expanded the award grants to $150,000 to include six awardees.

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Autolus Therapeutics is a promising clinical-stage biotech that is a leader in T-cell programming and manufacturing technology. They have seen rapid growth since launching in 2014, and recently executed a successful US IPO in June that raised $160.4M at a $17 share price and landed them on the Nasdaq (AUTL).

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Samumed said it has sold North American rights to its Phase I idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) candidate SM04646 to United Therapeutics, in a deal that could generate more than $350 million for the privately-held San Diego biotech.

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The Association of University Research Parks (AURP) and the University of Maryland have teamed up to present the AURP 2018 International Conference from October 22nd to October 26th. The International Conference attracts 200+ park leaders from around the world for knowledge exchange and networking with industry expert presenters.

AURP is a not-for-profit international organization that focuses on creating communities of innovation and education for university research parks both operating and planned, innovation districts, incubators, accelerators and businesses that cater to the research park industry.

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The Maryland Tech Council (MTC) concluded its Bio+Tech18 Conference yesterday in Baltimore with the announcement of Remedy Plan Therapeutics as the winner of its Inaugural Start-Up Pitch Contest. Remedy Plan Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing drugs that target cancer stem cells to inhibit tumor growth and proliferation.

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WellSpan Health and Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have partnered to launch a grant program to support cancer research.

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In its most recent look at states where innovation and entrepreneurship rank high, the U.S. Department of Commerce Foundation rated Maryland third, highlighting the state as a “national leader in bioscience, biotechnology, and health innovation.”

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Even under the no-holds-barred rules of biotech, it’s a particularly shrewd move, one that might prompt guffaws from knowing insiders.

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On September 23rd, Montgomery County residents will gather at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda for the Leggett Legacy Forward event celebrating County Executive Ike Leggett and his wife Catherine’s years of outstanding service and their commitment to higher education. The event is a culmination of their effort to establish a legacy gift that will serve the county in perpetuity — the Ike and Catherine Leggett Scholarship. The scholarship will benefit the county’s historically underrepresented students in higher education through the Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES) program.

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Monday, October 1, 2018

ACGT and Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., invite you to an Intimate Conversation with Crystal Mackall, MD

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Learning Undefeated is a mobile education program serving Southeast Texas schools devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Using a self-contained science classroom on wheels as its home base, the program provides teaching space and scientific equipment, lab supplies, during- and after-school activities, and public outreach to communities whose classrooms and science labs were destroyed during the August 2017 hurricane.

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Join one of the 24 Institutes and Centers within the NIH that awards extramural grants! Extramural grants account for approximately 80 percent of NIH’s budget and are awarded to investigators at more than 2,500 universities, medical schools, and other research organizations around the world. To learn more about the grants process, types of grant programs, and the peer review process, visit the website for the Office of Extramural Research.

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Another year, another list of the Top U.S. Cities for Global Trade. If there’s one thing that strikes us about this list over the past couple of years is that the reach of the global economy has not just stretched to other shores but into virtually every city in the United States, no matter the size.

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MedTech Innovator, the premier nonprofit startup accelerator in the medical technology industry, today announced that AblaCare, CroiValve, FineHeart, Sana Health, and Spect have been selected as finalists to compete for the title of MedTech Innovator of 2018, out of over 700 applicants. The Grand Prize winner of $350,000 will be determined by the vote of the audience at the largest gathering of medtech industry leaders in North America on Sept. 25 in Philadelphia, PA at The MedTech Conference, powered by AdvaMed.

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Expanding its portfolio of innovative health solutions, the Inova Personalized Health Accelerator (IPHA) has invested in a new therapy company that is developing a solution to address a major unmet need in patients with olfactory impairment. Sense of smell can often be taken for granted, until it is lost. This occurs most commonly by sino-nasal disease and upper respiratory infection, and in many cases, by head trauma. Cyrano Therapeutics understands the profound impact these senses can have on quality of life and is developing the first safe and effective nasal spray to restore and maintain the sense of smell and its connection with the ability to detect flavor in food (often perceived as taste). According to the peer-reviewed journal BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders, 14 million patients in the United States have olfactory impairment or loss of smell, yet few treatments are available.

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Biotech is one of the buzziest sectors for venture-capital funds right now.

Across the globe, venture-capital investments in biotech startups last year topped

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From “doing digital” to “being digital,” that’s where the life sciences and health care industry needs to go. To help your business navigate digital disruption, this series provides a life sciences and health care perspective on Deloitte’s 2018 Tech Trends report. From blockchain to digital reality to the no-collar workforce, explore eight trends that are shaping strategic and operational transformations and redefining life sciences and health care.

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Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s Manhattan outpost of its startup incubator, JLabs, is the new kid on the NYC-health-tech block.

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It’s the 21st century and information is just right at the tip of our fingers – thanks to the wide, wide, internet world. However, in spite of all the availability of information and the easy access to it, many people are still under the cloak of hoaxes and myths – and the business world is no exemption.

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The second minibus package includes the fiscal year 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) funding bill, which includes funding for programs within the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and other related agencies, including the Social Security Administration.

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Galera Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of drugs targeting oxygen metabolic pathways with the potential to transform cancer radiotherapy, today announced it has secured $150 million in a joint, oversubscribed Series C financing and royalty purchase agreement. The financing was led by new investor Clarus, with participation from additional new investors Adage Capital Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, Nan Fung Life Sciences, RA Capital, Rock Springs Capital and Tekla Capital Management LLC. Existing investors Correlation Ventures, Galera Angels, New Enterprise Associates, Novartis Venture Fund, Novo Ventures and Sofinnova Ventures also participated. In addition, Emmett T. Cunningham, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., MPH, Managing Director at Clarus, will join Galera’s Board of Directors.

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Principia Biopharma Inc. (Principia or the Company) (Nasdaq: PRNB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing transformative oral therapies to patients with significant unmet medical needs in immunology and oncology, today announced the closing of its initial public offering of 7,187,500 shares of its common stock, including the exercise in full of the underwriters’ option to purchase 937,500 additional shares of common stock, at a public offering price of $17.00 per share. The gross proceeds to Principia, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, were approximately $122.2 million. All of the common stock was offered by Principia. Principia’s common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol “PRNB.”

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SparkLabs Group operates a network of accelerators and venture capital funds, and today it is adding to them with the creation of a new global accelerator program focused on cybersecurity and blockchain-related startups in Washington, D.C.

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The biotechnology industry in the Boston region, especially Cambridge, is a powerhouse even when compared with the innovation and development seen in the San Francisco Bay Area. These hubs function at a whole different level in biotech compared with other biotech clusters in the U.S. The healthy rivalry between San Francisco and Boston has fostered rapid growth in biotech thanks to their robust populations of small startups, large well-established pharmaceuticals, incubator sites, and large biotech-focused research institutions.

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An artificial intelligence start-up founded by three insiders at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center debuted with great fanfare in February, with $25 million in venture capital and the promise that it might one day transform how cancer is diagnosed.

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Good morning and thank you for having me here today.

One of the most critical points on a patient’s journey is the moment of diagnosis. The moment when you find out what’s wrong. What the options are. The uncertainty of the unknown can be the hardest part of a grave diagnosis. And the emotional health that comes with more confidence and more certainty is inextricably linked to physical health and outcomes.

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The Biden Cancer Summit takes place Friday, September 21st in Washingtin, D. C. The event aims to promote new solutions, bring together problem solvers, and tell stories that epitomize what it means to be cancer FIERCE. The Summit is the flagship event of more than 450 Biden Cancer Community Summits convening throughout September 21st, all focused on improving the cancer journey for patients, their families, and caregivers.

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