426th Edition, October 6, 2020

American Gene Technologies International Inc. (AGT) CEO and Founder, Jeff Galvin returns to update us of their Phase 1 Clinical Trial of their lead #HIV Program, their expansion in a new facility, and what’s next!

Listen now on Apple https://apple.co/2Gi2GIF, Google https://bit.ly/2GizVvu, Spotify https://spoti.fi/2GxROGd, and TuneIn https://bit.ly/3l9HK56.

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The BioHealth Capital Region was represented for the first time at the FRAXA Biotech Games and took home FOURTH PLACE! This national competition is hosted annually by the FRAXA Research Foundation to raise funds and awareness for Fragile X research. Fragile X is the most common inherited cause of autism and intellectual disabilities. The BioHealth Capital Region was represented by BioHealth Innovation team members Ashwin Kulkarni, Rini Pek, Salman Hasan, and Delphine Lissa. BHI’s CEO Rich Bendis proudly stated “The BioHealth Capital Region cluster ranks 4th in Genetic Engineering News and now in the FRAXA games thanks to our crack team of analysts. Going forward, we’re looking to move up in both ranking!.”

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Join fellow biotech leaders and is presented by the Association of University Research Parks, AstraZeneca, BioHealth Innovation, Children’s National Health System, Emergent BioSolutions, George Mason University, J.P. Morgan, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Department of Commerce, Virginia Bio, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC set the bar high for biotech innovation. So please join us for our 6th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum that will highlight the accomplishments of today and chart our successes of tomorrow.

We are excited to bring you an exceptional line up of speakers to this virtual event!

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The BioHealth Capital Region Investor Forum is going Virtual on October 20th and 21st. Contact BHI at BHI@BioHealthInnovation.org to apply to be a Company or Investor at this invite-only event.

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Are you and early stage company with innovative biohealth technology? Have you considered non-dilutive funding to advance your technology? Learn more about whether or not federal or state non-dilutive funding makes sense for you. Discuss potential strategies for success. Sign up for a free 1:1 advice and feedback regarding non-dilutive funding strategy and applications with BHI staff who have helped companies secured SBIR, STTR and other awards—at twice the national average win rate.   This program is open to anyone, though scheduling priority is given to Montgomery County companies, courtesy support from MCEDC.

Click here to schedule a time.

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The Silver Spring company first filed in mid-September to trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

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One of Kansas City’s most under the radar startups is scaling up amid COVID-19 — thanks in part to a share of $250 thousand in non-dilutive funding from a Los Angeles-based accelerator and FDA sponsored pediatric device consortia.

“When COVID hit, one of the things I took from that was, ‘When you’re not selling, your process better be impeccable,’” said Chris Mathia, CEO of Innara Health, the healthtech startup behind the NTrainer — the only FDA approved solution for improving oral coordination in premature babies. 

Image: Chris Mathia, Innara Health

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI) announces six awardees chosen in its annual “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition to share in $250,000 in grants funded by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to support the advancement of pediatric medical devices. The competition, powered by NCC-PDI partner MedTech Innovator, focused on cardiovascular, NICU, and orthopaedic and spine devices, which are areas of critical need where innovation can significantly improve children’s healthcare. The virtual event aired today as part of the 8th Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium presented by Children’s National Hospital in conjunction with The MedTech Conference, powered by AdvaMed.

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The vaccine-related activity is creating more demand for lab space in an already tight market, further reducing vacancy rates and driving up rents. This dynamic is leading developers to consider breaking ground on spec and converting vacant office buildings to lab space, multiple experts said Thursday on Bisnow’s Life Science Surge webinar.

Image: Courtesy of HFF The GSK Global Vaccine Center in Rockville

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The state of Maryland is the global epicenter of vaccine research and development. This has never been more evident than right now as scores of Maryland companies have risen to the global challenge of developing the first approved vaccine for SARS-CoV-2.

We’ve written extensively about the region’s push to develop a viable, effective and safe COVID-19 vaccine. Companies like Novavax, Emergent BioSolutions and Altimmune are on the leading edge with some of the most promising COVID-19 Vaccine candidates progressing through clinicals. While Maryland as a global vaccine R&D juggernaut might be news to those outside of the region, Maryland’s life science ecosystem has been a leading vaccine R&D hub for years.

Image: https://biobuzz-io.cdn.ampproject.org

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“5 Questions With…” is a weekly BioBuzz series where we reach out to interesting people in the BioHealth Capital Region to share a little about themselves, their work, and maybe something completely unrelated. This edition features 5 Questions with Amy Adams, Executive Director of the Institute for Biohealth Innovation at George Mason University.

As Executive Director of the Institute for Biohealth Innovation at George Mason University, Amy Adams is responsible for nurturing and advancing biohealth research and innovation interests of more than 250 faculty and thousands of students who represent a broad range of academic disciplines. Her role includes fostering partnerships with industry, healthcare, government, and academic partners.

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Drug- and vaccine-based methods of attacking the SARS-CoV-2 virus rely on chemical properties to identify the virus (for example surface antigens). These chemical properties can change when the virus mutates, rendering those therapies ineffective. An alternative method for identifying the virus would be to use the physical properties (size, shape, rigidity) of the viral capsule (capsid). These capsid properties make the virus easy to recognize with a microscope. Without an intact capsid, the virus cannot survive in the body. Shape Theranostics is trying to use microscopic iron devices that will take advantage of the unique physical properties of the viral capsid to identify and inactivate the virus.

In a newly published work supported by the U.S. National Institute for Aging, Shape Theranostics scientists (working with investigators at Georgetown University) showed that the micro-devices can change MRI signals in a way that depends on viral load. These signals enabled quantitative measurement of the SARS-CoV-2 in physiological solutions. The amount of iron in these investigational products would be less than for off-the-shelf oral iron supplements. Initial preclinical studies demonstrated no toxicity from the micro-devices. The publication (IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology) can be downloaded from www.ShapeTheranostics.com.

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has selected 19 small businesses to develop new technologies through grants totaling over $4.4 million in value. The awardees will address various technology needs under phases one and two of the agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, NIST said Thursday.

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DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) announced today that it was awarded a $36m one-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) for enterprise data integration and data management to support the NCATS Secure Scientific Platforms Environment.

Palantir’s Foundry software will be provided in various configurations to the NCATS Secure Scientific Platforms Environment, which supports several critical health missions through the integration, management, security, and analysis of any kind of scientific data, and provides controlled access to internal and external collaborators.

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PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), an urban office REIT and the first, longest-tenured and pioneering owner, operator and developer uniquely focused on collaborative life science, technology and agtech campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, today announced that it has been recognized by the Center for Active Design (CfAD), the operator of Fitwel®, as the first-ever company to achieve a Fitwel Viral Response Certification with Distinction, the highest certification level within the Fitwel Viral Response module. Alexandria’s comprehensive and industry-leading COVID-19 prevention guidelines and practices, which expand upon its existing rigorous health and safety standards for its tenants, employees, visitors, service providers and key industry stakeholders, contributed to this highly impactful and tremendous accomplishment.

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BALTIMORE — Johns Hopkins University is getting a $1.44 million federal grant to study potential COVID-19 testing gaps and disparities for transgender persons.

The grant is from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The COVID, transgender research funding was announced by U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and U.S. Reps. Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes and Kweisi Mfume. They are all Maryland Democrats.

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Baltimore, Md. (Sept. 30, 2020)—The Maryland Momentum Fund has invested $300,000 in Rockville-based N5 Sensors Inc., a company developing smart, microscale, wearable sensors to detect gas, chemicals and additional environmental conditions for a variety of applications, fund officials announced today.

The investment completes a financing round of more than $1 million for the company and includes funding from Blu Venture Investors.

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Whether it’s “Mom and Pop” retail storefronts, family-run services companies or life science companies developing innovative, life saving products, family owned-and-operated businesses are the lifeblood of the global economy.

According to Cornell University’s SC Johnson School of Business, “There are 5.5 million family businesses in the US. (FEUSA, 2011) Family-owned businesses contribute 57% of the U.S. GDP (that’s $8.3 trillion), employ 63% of the workforce (FEUSA, 2011), and are responsible for 78% of all new job creation. (Astrachan & Shanker, 2003) 35% of Fortune 500 companies are family-controlled. (Businessweek.com, 2006).”

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Marylad biomanufacturing companies can receive up to $20,000 in free energy engineering services, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a result while increasing productivity and workplace safety and comfort. These services are provided thru a grant program managed by the Maryland Regional Manufacturing Institute’s (RMI) Energy Edge Program. Companies should email Stacey@RMIofMaryland.com for an application and more information.

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The power of nurse-led innovation and know-how is more critical than ever when developing potential solutions amid a global crisis. With extensive patient experience, nurses’ ideas have the potential to profoundly improve human health.

Time is running out for nurses to submit ideas that aim to profoundly transform COVID-19 patient care in the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge: COVID-19 Patient Care in partnership with the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) and the Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs, & Leaders (SONSIEL).

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Johns Hopkins has consolidated the university’s job and internship postings onto a single website, SMILE, a new platform for finding remote and in-person experiential learning opportunities across all JHU divisions.

All positions posted on SMILE are non-credit bearing, compensated via JHU payroll, and part time. Students will continue to use the existing Handshake platform for off-campus internships and full-time positions.

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Charlottesville-based AMPEL BioSolutions currently has an opening in its rigorous two-year postdoctoral program that trains PhD to be competitive applicants for Scientist positions in Pharma/Biotech, the NIH and universities. PostDoc positions are located in: Systems Immunology, Bioinformatics, Machine Learning or a combination of these fields. Publication and grant writing are essential components of the training period. AMPEL has a hybrid environment of remote and in-office personnel. High-caliber work suitable for presentation at scientific meetings and/or publication in the peer-reviewed literature is expected. Successful applicants will possess excellent organizational skills, the ability to think critically, prowess in written and oral communication, and the initiative to work proactively in a collaborative environment. The company has successfully implemented this program during the past few years with several postdocs successfully gaining industry and publication experience. Please send your send CV, 3 references, research interests & relevant skills/experience to the COO at AMPEL.

Visit the Ample Biosolutions Website.

Download the PDF

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