451st Edition, April 14, 2021

C-suite Executive and Serial Entrepreneur Who Specializes in Longevity Economy Innovation Joins Diverse Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) Team

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, April 12, 2021 – BioHealth Innovation Inc. (BHI) announces the addition of John P. Reinhart, CPA, MBA, to the growing Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) team. The Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program at BHI aims to ensure that disruptive technologies receive all the resources required to transform the technology from a discovery into a commercially relevant product and eventually have a measurable impact on human health. The program was created to support scientists, early-stage startups, and licensed technologies to provide them with access to these resources. John will be working with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), specifically the National Institute of Aging (NIA)

“BHI is proud to welcome John Reinhart to our strong group of EIRs work with the National Institutes of Health,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President, and CEO. “His background as an executive and serial entrepreneur adds to the mission of this program.”

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 Former Vice President with Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Joins BHI Tem

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, April 12, 2021 – BioHealth Innovation Inc. (BHI) announces Sarah Miller’s addition as VP of Economic Development. This move coincides with the departure of BHI’s Managing Director of Economic Development, Judy Costello, who will be joining Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich’s staff.

“It is with mixed emotions that we said goodbye to an important part of the BHI family while adding a talented leader from right here in Montgomery County,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President and CEO. “We thank Judy for all her contributions to BHI and the BioHealth Capital Region, and welcome Sarah, who brings a background of success to our organization.”

Sarah Miller has served in various positions that have given her the tools necessary to help communities recognize and build upon their unique assets. In her work across Pennsylvania and Maryland, she has created high-quality civic spaces, helped industrial communities reinvent themselves, supported new farmers, built technology business incubators, and managed local public art programs. 

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BioHealth Innovation, Inc., (BHI) a non-profit organization which strives to facilitate the development of commercially viable bio health products and companies by connecting market relevant research assets to appropriate funding, management and markets, is seeking a Senior Analyst.

JOB TITLE – SENIOR ANALYST

Reporting to the Lead Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), the Senior Analyst

Download the full description here.

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Under the agreement, GSK will provide ‘fill and finish’ manufacturing capacity at its Barnard Castle facility in the North East UK. Fill and finish comprises the completion stage of vaccine manufacturing, in which vials are prepared for the final vaccine, before it is packaged and distributed for us.

Novavax’s NVX-CoV2373 vaccine candidate has shown strong efficacy in Phase 3 clinical trials, with data showing that it is 96.4% effective against the original Covid-19 strain and 86.3% effective against the UK variant.

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BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Testing remains a key factor in reaching the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, what happens if you test positive for the virus?

For many, it’s a waiting game and an unsettling experience in finding out the possible range of symptoms That’s an issue one Maryland-based biotech company is hoping to solve.

IES Life Sciences and the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore are teaming up to determine how severe a COVID-19 case could become and even what type of symptoms a patient could have.

“I hope that it will eliminate the fear that is associated with getting a positive [COVID] test,” Dr. Robert Figliozzi, Director of Research and Development at IES Life Sciences, said.

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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic greatly exposed a dearth of essential medications and significant vulnerabilities in the United States medical supply chain. Phlow Corporation aims to mitigate those weaknesses and manufacture essential generic medications at its Virginia manufacturing facility.

In early 2020, little-known Phlow made a splash with an $812 million contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to manufacture essential medications in the United States. Phlow, along with strategic partners Civica Rx, Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medicines for All Institute, and AMPAC Fine Chemicals teamed up to meet the challenge of ensuring a steady supply of these essential drugs, as outlined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will be available for patients.

Image: https://biobuzz.io/

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The coronavirus pandemic has devastated our region’s economy overall, but it has also triggered explosive growth in a pair of critical technology industries on either side of the Potomac.

The medical battle against the coronavirus opened a gusher of nearly $8 billion in fresh investment last year in Montgomery County’s biotech companies. The money has accelerated the sector’s evolution from innovative but small-scale research to the sale and manufacturing of vaccines and drugs.

Image: Doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine at George Washington University Hospital in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/Reuters)

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Baltimore-based BondTrue was awarded a $256,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for development of its surgical closure device.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award is non-dilutive, meaning that it doesn’t require the startup to exchange equity in the company to receive funding. CEO Aimee Martin said the stamp of approval from the NSF makes this grant a big step towards reaching commercial release, as it will fund live testing at the University of Maryland. Martin said the company is seeking out non-dilutive grants to minimize risk and mature the product before taking it to bigger investors.

Image: BondTrue’s Aimee Martin and Dr. David Zachary Martin. (Courtesy photo)

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AUSTIN, Texas, March 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference today announced the winners of the 13th annual SXSW Pitch event, which took place virtually on March 17-18 as part of the SXSW Online digital experience. In addition to a winner chosen from each of the 8 categories, the most promising project of the finalists also took home the overall “Best In Show” award.

Image: SXSW Pitch Presented by Cyndx – SXSW 2019. Photo by Camille Mayor

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 8, 2021) – Dr. James Crowe, Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology in the School of Medicine, has been named winner of the 2021 SEC Faculty Achievement Award for Vanderbilt University, the SEC announced on Thursday.

A board certified pediatric infectious diseases physician and viral immunology researcher, Dr. Crowe is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Inventors. He is a named inventor on approximately 100 patents and patent families for vaccines and antibodies. His research interests are in the human immune response to infection, and his work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, agencies within the U.S. Department of Defense and numerous foundations. He has been published in journals such as Nature, New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of the American Medical Association.

Image: https://www.thesecu.com

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She calls herself a hotel brat — but she also owns an RV.

Image: Dr. Christine Dingivan is president and CEO at Emmes. © EMAN MOHAMMED

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University of Maryland (UMD) bioengineers reached a new milestone in their efforts to design an immunotherapy strategy to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. The team’s findings, published this month in ACS Nano, used nanomaterials to manipulate inflammatory pathways that might one day help slow or reverse MS without compromising a patient’s immune system.

Nearly 2.5 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with MS, an autoimmune disease that causes the body’s immune system to wrongfully attack myelin, the insulation that surrounds and protects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. When this happens, nerve fibers and cells are damaged, leading to a loss of motor function and other neurological complications that greatly impact the patient’s quality of life.

Image: Dr. Robert “Smitty” Oakes (front) and Dr. Christopher Jewell (back)

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Long home to federal institutions like the National Institutes of Health and leading universities, suburban areas like Montgomery County have long been home to a cluster of talent and companies working to commercialize pharmaceuticals, biotech and medical devices. Then came the pandemic. The federal government needed to invest in new treatments to stop the spread of COVID-19. In Maryland, the companies around the NIH and FDA figured prominently in the solution, as many had expertise that left them poised to jump into the fight.

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(BOSTON) – CARB-X is awarding Novel Microdevices, Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland, USA, up to $3.6 million in non-dilutive funding, and, subject to available funding, up to an additional $10.2 million if certain project milestones are met, to develop a new rapid molecular test to diagnose sexually-transmitted bacterial infections, including Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Novel’s new device would diagnose infections in about 25 minutes from a vaginal swab or urine sample, and detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including those resistant to ciprofloxacin and 3rd generation cephalosporins, the only antibiotics that are still effective as treatments for most strains of the gonorrhoeae bacteria.

Image: https://carb-x.org

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FREDERICK, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The Maryland Tech Council (MTC) announced today it will receive a $378,000 federal CARES Act grant to significantly expand its Business Continuity Task Force to assist more entrepreneurs in Maryland as they navigate COVID-19’s economic impact. Awarded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the grant enables MTC to expand the task force’s mentoring services to tech and life science businesses in the City of Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Prince George’s County at no cost.

The task force pairs tech and life science executives with experienced mentors who specialize in finance, accounting, engineering, innovation, and founders issues. The goal is to provide these entrepreneurs free and practical advice on leading a business through economic uncertainty from experts who navigated crises like the 2008 recession.

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In tiny tubes filled with strands of human DNA, Robert Figliozzi carefully extracts what could be breakthrough science in the fight against the coronavirus.

The samples are mixed and sorted into data through machines. Figliozzi then identifies what are called biomarkers, indicators that predict the severity — even what type — of COVID-19 symptoms a patient will have.

“That, hopefully, will lead to those individual patients getting the right types of therapy and medical attention that they need,” said Figliozzi, a lab coordinator at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.

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