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327th Edition – October 30, 2018




BioHealth Innovation


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October 30, 2018












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Viewpoint: We need a federal authority to boost ‘tech transfer’ – Washington Business Journal

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.

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BHI Entrepreneur-in-Residence Feedback Sessions

Are you a start-up in Maryland, DC or Virginia seeking feedback on your biohealth business idea, pitch deck, or commercialization plan? business/commercialization plan, pitch deck, or idea?

Schedule your feedback session with BHI EIRs on one of the following dates: 

  • 10/31
  • 12/5
  • 2/13
  • 3/20
  • 5/22

(30 minute blocks of time beginning at 9:00 in the morning. If the morning slots are filled, more time will be allotted beginning at 1 p.m.)

Pre-registration is required; sign up here (“EIR resource”at BHI). For questions/more information, contact BHI.

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REGENXBIO Announces Additional Positive Interim Phase I Trial Update for RGX-314 for the Treatment of Wet AMD at the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2018 Annual Meeting

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 updated results from the ongoing Phase I study of RGX-314 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD).

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United Therapeutics, CollPlant partner for 3D-printed organs – Washington Business Journal

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

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BioHealth CEO/Consulting Opportunities

Are you an experienced biohealth industry executive seeking full time or part time employment as a consultant or start-up C suite executive? BioHealth Innovation is establishing a database of experienced industry executives who may be able to share their expertise with early stage/growing companies.  To be considered by companies or technology transfer organizations seeking leaders for their spin-out companies and/or advisors to support their business growth, please send your Vita to BHI@BioHealthInnovation.org.  Please include the following in your email.

  • Position Sought – FT, PT, Consultant (list any/all that apply)
  • Compensation – (Minimum hourly/annual)
  • Willing to take deferred compensation in exchange for equity? (Y/N)
  • Date available
  • Other 
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    PathFinder Innovation Program

    BHI and Launch Workplaces are co-hosting a series of education and 1:1 consulting sessions on topics of interest to early stage biohealth and technology companies. These sessions are open to all start-ups in the BioHealth Capital Region (with priority on 1:1 office hours given to Montgomery County Innovation Center tenants).  Find your path for business growth with experts on a wide range of topics. 

    Each program begins with an overview of issues related to the day’s topic with lessons learned and best practices from experts in the field and companies which have been through the process.  Attendees can sign up for 1:1 meetings with the experts after the overview sessions to discuss their specific scenarios more in depth.  Companies participating in at least 5 sessions will have the ability to apply for a small matching grant (awarded competitively) to advance their commercialization activities. [more info]

    MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

    8:15 a.m. –  Networking

    8:30 – 9:20 a.m. – Panel with Q & A

    9:30 a.m. –12:30 p.m. – 1:1 meetings*

    • 11/14 – CMS Reimbursement – Germantown Innovation Center
    • 11/28 – Legal Issues for Early Stage Companies – Rockville Innovation Center
    • 1/23 – Tax Implications for Startups  – Silver Spring Innovation Center
    • 1/29 – Fundraising (SBIR)  – Location TBD
    • 2/27 – Fundraising – Other (nonSBIR nondilutive and dilutive)  – Germantown Innovation Center
    • 3/27 – Successful Marketing & PR Strategies – Rockville Innovation Center
    • 4/24 – Selling to the Government – Silver Spring Innovation Center
    • 5/15 – Pricing Factors – Rockville Innovation Center
    • 6/12 – Staff Recruitment and Retention – Germantown Innovation Center

    *Space will be available for you to work while you are waiting for your 1:1 meeting.

    No fee but, PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED:

    To RSVP, for the overview session(s), send your contact information and the date(s) of the program(s) you plan to attend to email BHI.

    To schedule your 1:1 meeting(s) with consultant(s), click here.

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    MoCo college to target economic development with new ‘RISE Zone’ – Washington Business Journal

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

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    TaiRx, Inc. and BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Form TaiRx US to Develop and Commercialize Therapeutics and Precision Medicine Diagnostics

    TaiRx, Inc and BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) announced today the formation of TaiRx US, a new joint venture.  The mission of the new company is to develop therapeutics and precision medicine diagnostics focused on the Nodal protein, a critical mediator of aggressive cancer progression and treatment resistance.

    TaiRx, Inc and BHI have formed TaiRx US, which will be based in Rockville (Montgomery County), Maryland, to develop and commercialize a unique monoclonal antibody with the potential to reverse drug resistance in various tumor types. The company is also working to develop a companion diagnostic to accurately identify those patients who can best benefit from the therapy.

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    How Stem Cell Innovation Has Advanced Neuroscience Research – Psychology Today

    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].

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    University of Maryland School of Medicine to tackle diseases in major new Baltimore research center – Baltimore Sun

    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.

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    10 impact-focused ventures enter Johns Hopkins Social Innovation Lab – Technical.ly Baltimore

    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.

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    VERALOX Therapeutics and Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Inc. – Success Story – Baltimore Business Journal

    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).

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    GSK developing TB vaccine – Livemint

    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.

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    Altimmune CEO Bill Enright to depart – Washington Business Journal

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

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    AstraZeneca strengthens and expands oncology development and commercialisation collaboration with Innate Pharma

    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.

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    U.S. Life Science Real Estate Sector Keeps Expanding

    A growing seniors population and increasing prevalence of high-cost diseases like diabetes has generated a surge in funding for healthcare research in recent years and, along with it, demand for life science-biotech lab space.

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    United States Is The Most Competitive Economy: World Economic Forum | Newgeography.com

    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.

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    The Galien Foundation Announces 2018 #PrixGalien Award Recipients

    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.

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    Foundation for the NIH Bestows the Inaugural Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists to Dr. Michael Fox | FNIH

    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.

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    How a Pharma Company Applied Machine Learning to Patient Data

    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.

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    Railing against ‘global freeloading,’ Trump offers plan to lower drug prices – STAT

    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.

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    A Year of Historic Action to Combat the Opioid Crisis – The White House

    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.

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    Gotham Therapeutics Launches in New York City with $54 Million Series A Financing – BioSpace

    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.

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