339th Edition – January 29, 2019

You thought the Shark Tank was tough…Wait until you enter the the BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap!

Submit your application for the opportunity to present your innovation and be named the region’s early stage biohealth company with the most commercial potential at the 2019 BioHealth Regional Forum, $10,000, and MORE!

Application Deadline: March 1, 2019

Finalists will be announced: March 21st, 2019

Finalist Presentations BioHealth Capital Region Forum event: April 9th, 2019

Submit Application »

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Cell therapy offers a treasure chest of new medicines, but there is still much to learn about cell activities and how to deliver these potential benefits before science and the industry can fully fulfill on their promise. One of cell therapy’s earliest pioneering companies is MaxCyte, based in Gaithersburg, MD and in the United Kingdom. Leading MaxCyte is president and CEO Doug Doerfler, a biotech pioneer who has more than 35 years of experience in the discovery, development, commercialization and international financing of biotechnology products and companies. He was also a founder of MaxCyte in July 1998.

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This new program is specifically aimed at helping patients with Type 2 diabetes, who take medications to control their blood sugar levels.

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United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR) today announced the closing of the transactions contemplated by its license agreement with Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARNA). Under the agreement, United Therapeutics acquired exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and manufacture the Phase 3 investigational drug candidate ralinepag, a next-generation, oral, selective and potent prostacyclin receptor agonist in development for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Upon closing, United Therapeutics paid Arena $800 million. Arena is also entitled to potential milestone payments of up to $400 million based on the achievement of certain regulatory events as well as low double-digit tiered royalties on annual net sales of ralinepag products.

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HOLD THE DATE – February 28, 2019  8 am. – 3:00 p.m.

Meet 1:1 with SBIR program managers. Learn more about their funding programs (SBIR and more!) 

8-8:30 Networking and Registration

8:30 – 12:00 p.m. – Program Overviews

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Networking Lunch

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m – 1:1 Meetings with Program Managers*

Agencies represented include:   NSF, NIH NIA, NIH NCI, NIH NHLBI, NIH NIDA, US Army (invited)

*The program overview will be available by videoconference.

**You do not have to participate in 1:1 meetings.  However, to do so, you must attend the overview session in person.PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED:  RSVP by noon 2/26:  BHI@BioHealthInnovation.org

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The digital transformation of healthcare will see significant growth in the next 12 months fueled by institutional interest in driving down costs and improving patient engagement. Expect increased pharma investment, improving regulatory status, payer engagement with digital tools and better telemedicine connectivity through consolidation.

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Four Maryland colleges are expanding tech-focused programming with funding from a state program.

The Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund was created to spur research in scientific and technical fields at colleges and universities in the state.

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Washington, D.C.–based cybersecurity investment firm Strategic Cyber Ventures released its first annual report on The State of 2018 Cybersecurity Investing that includes some key findings about the DMV.

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Washington, D.C. has been crowned as the city that’s leading the way in talent competitiveness, thanks to its ability to attract and nurture entrepreneurs, whilst meeting the needs of being a strongly-connected, “global” city.

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The partners at SR One, a storied corporate biotech VC with investments across a wide range of drug developers on both sides of the Atlantic, are engaged in talks to split away from the pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline, according to sources familiar with a move that’s been in the works since at least late last year.

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Gov. Hogan’s new fiscal 2020 budget is officially on the table, and it’s getting a preliminary thumbs up from the Democratic leadership in the General Assembly.

This year’s budget may go above and beyond when it comes to kids.

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gel-e Inc., announces the issuance of United States Patent Number 10,179,145 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which broadly claims and discloses uses of the Company’s core technology.

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One major focus for legislators during this year’s session is how to bring down the cost of health care, as everyday Marylanders struggle to afford the cost they pay at the pharmacy counter. Despite disagreements between different groups within and beyond health care, there is broad consensus that something must be done about the cost patients pay without denying Marylanders the world-class treatments available to them, many of which are made right here in Maryland.

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The past decade has seen intensified research collaboration between pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions. Although such partnerships are recognized as a source of innovation and a key pillar to advance science in drug discovery, they are replete with challenges. Despite much anecdotal evidence and debate, fact-based evidence on the nature of these challenges and how to manage them is scarce.

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2019 has kicked off with a wave of innovative health care solutions highlighted at mega-conferences like CES and the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference – from the introduction of the first wearable blood pressure monitor to virtual home health care for seniors to online vision tests allowing patients to renew prescriptions from anywhere at anytime. We are truly living through an age of disruption spurred by technological advances.

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After weeks of speculation that biopharma deal making would cool off, 2019 got off to a flying start as far as mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A) is concerned, thanks to two blockbuster transactions: Bristol-Myers Squibb’s planned $74 billion acquisition of Celgene, followed four days later by Eli Lilly’s planned $8 billion purchase of Loxo Oncology—a deal that quickly became the buzz of the J.P. Morgan 37th Healthcare Conference, held earlier this month in San Francisco.

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Our National Cancer Institute-University of Maryland (NCI-UMD) Partnership for Integrative Cancer Research reflects the broad interests of our participating NCI and UMD researchers. We are delighted to invite you to our annual NCI-UMD Partnership for Integrative Cancer Research Symposium on Friday, February 8th from 10am-4pm which will take place in Bethesda, Maryland in the John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center at the National Institutes of Health, Bldg 35A, Room 620/630. Please register and plan to participate in our October symposium. The final agenda will be announced shortly.

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We need to chart a new course.

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of death in the western society, being ranked third most lethal neoplasia in the United States in both men and women.1 In 2014, the American Cancer Society estimated that approximately 136,830 new cases of CRC will be diagnosed in the United States, with more than 50,000 Americans expected to die due to disease progression or complications.1,2 The lifetime cancer-related costs are considerable and differ by cancer site, disease stage, age at diagnosis, and treatment phase. Considering direct healthcare costs, CRC is the second most important neoplasia with estimated expenses of more than $14 billion.3,4

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Deloitte has surpassed its peers to become the world’s most valuable professional services brand, according to the 2019 Global 500 report issued by Brand Finance on 22 January 2019. Deloitte’s strong performance was due to higher scores in Brand Finance’s metrics of familiarity, consideration, satisfaction, preference, recommendation and revenue.

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The highly touted gene-editing technology CRISPR is facing one of its first real-world tests. As many as 12 patients who live with the blood disorders sickle cell anemia or beta-thalassemia have started enrolling in a Europe-based clinical trial that may serve as an early indicator of whether gene editing will live up to the hype.

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