458th Edition, June 1, 2021

Dr. Laurie E. Locascio, Vice President for Research at both the University of Maryland College Park and Baltimore, Visits BioTalk to Discuss Her Career, Tech Transfer, and the Two Institutions Working Together

Listen now on Apple https://apple.co/3oZKsNP, Google https://bit.ly/3vpYr1T, Spotify https://spoti.fi/2QZm3vd, and TuneIn https://bit.ly/2RQqs40.

Laurie E. Locascio, Ph.D., is the Vice President for Research at the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

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Montgomery County (MOCO), Maryland, sits at the epicenter of biopharma growth, investment, and innovation that makes the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) one of the top bio clusters in the world. The past 15 or so months has seen the region’s biohealth momentum accelerate significantly, spurred on by the race to develop a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, expansion in the cell and gene therapy sector, as well as increased activity around advanced biomanufacturing, among other positive indicators.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

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BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), is a Montgomery County innovation intermediary which translates market-relevant research into commercial success by bringing together management, funding, and markets. BHI is seeking an experienced life science professional with venture investment experience to join the BHI EIR team and serve as a part time Entrepreneur-in- Residence (EIR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

This position will report to and work closely with our lead at the NIH Office of the Director, Office of Extramural Research and specifically support the portfolio of companies funded by NIA’s ~$130M annual investment in small businesses focused on Alzheimer’s disease & related dementias, disorders of aging and supportive technologies for senior living and care providers.

Click here for more information.

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Saw a familiar face on ABC News 7 tonight! Congrats to the American Gene Technologies International Inc. team on the first patient dosing in the #HIVCure Ph 1 trial.

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LEIDEN, the Netherlands, May 27, 2021 / B3C newswire / — MIMETAS, the global leader in human-relevant organ-on-a-chip models, has just opened their Phenotypic Screening Center. The center facilitates large-scale screening campaigns on Organ-on-a-Chip models, a powerful technology that improves the human physiological relevance of cultured tissues by utilizing microfluidic techniques. In contrast to other Organ-on-a-Chip platforms, the MIMETAS OrganoPlate® technology offers the scalability and the throughput needed for drug discovery studies.

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A local biotech has secured millions of dollars in new investments to take its RNA therapies for drug-resistant cancers to the clinic.

Gaithersburg’s miRecule Inc. has raised $5.7 million in fresh funding, CEO Anthony Saleh told us Monday, positioning the company to start human testing for its lead candidate to treat head and neck cancer.

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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.

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Anew partnership led by University of Maryland researchers has entered a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) that could provide up to $68 million to drive advances in artificial intelligence and autonomy.

An interdisciplinary research team from UMD and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) aims to create a new generation of technologies and devices—from wearables to unmanned aircraft—able to intelligently work alone or in teams with other devices, as well as safely and effectively collaborate with their human operators in different environments.

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HILDEN, Germany & GERMANTOWN, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE:QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard:QIA) today announced a global collaboration with Mirati Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:MRTX) to continue developing a tissue-based KRAS companion diagnostic to identify patients with cancers that have a KRASG12C mutation who may benefit from treatment with adagrasib, Mirati’s investigational, highly selective and potent oral small molecule inhibitor of KRASG12C.

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The bio economy is booming across the U.S., and not just in Boston or San Francisco. States are witnessing a resurgence of life science research and technology commercialization. There is a boom of advanced manufacturing as construction of wet lab space takes place in research parks and tech incubators creating new space to attract and grow bio tech companies. Innovative federal and state policies are aiding in the emergence of bio tech entrepreneurs.

• Discover which states are taking the lead in leveraging bio technologies
• Examine ways the nation can safeguard the bio economy
• Explore new federal and state opportunities for growing this critical tech sector

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FREDERICK, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BioFactura, a leading developer of high-value biosimilar and biodefense drugs using its patented StableFastTM platform, announces today the initiation of a pivotal PK (pharmacokinetics) Phase 1 Clinical Trial for its Ustekinumab Biosimilar (BFI-751), to assess the effects on healthy human volunteers compared to the biologic medicine, Stelera®. This is the first time BFI-751 has been administered to humans, as authorized by the Ethics Committees in both Australia and New Zealand.

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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 week we welcome Sue Carr, RPh, President and Founder, CarrTech, LLC.

Sue Carr RPh is President and Founder of CarrTech LLC, a medical device company. CarrTech has developed, patented, and prototyped an all-in-one package one needle filter device to increase safety and compliance while reducing time and waste. Sue has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry in retail management and clinical hospital pharmacy, specializing in ICU, ER, Oncology, and NICU.

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Five finalists have been named in the prestigious annual “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition presented by the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI). Representing innovations in electrophysiology devices that treat congenital heart disease (CHD) and arrhythmias in pediatric patients, these five finalists now have access to a pediatric accelerator program led by MedTech Innovator and will compete for a share of $150,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the final virtual pitch event in September 2021. The pediatric pitch event is part of the 9th Annual Symposium on Pediatric Device Innovation, co-located with the MedTech Conference, powered by AdvaMed.

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There is no denying that the venture capital industry is red hot right now. When you open up websites like Forbes, Techcrunch, and Business Insider, it is almost impossible to miss all of the news about the biggest deals in Silicon Valley being made by these firms.

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GrowthCap is pleased to announce The Top 25 Healthcare Investors of 2021. In our inaugural year for these awards, we wanted to bring forth and recognize not only the most experienced and talented investors in healthcare but also those that help advance innovation across the sector. Over 750 investors were considered. Whether in healthcare software, healthcare services, medical technologies, biotechnology, the connected patient experience, or other areas, the accomplished individuals who were ultimately selected have demonstrated a deep commitment to healthcare and as a result have succeeded both from a business standpoint as well as in having significant societal impact.

Image: https://growthcapadvisory.com

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As biopharma companies continue to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and position themselves for recovery, digital and analytics can be a powerful tool in manufacturing and operations. It can drive the next wave of business optimization by transforming operational performance, shortening time to market, improving quality and yield, reducing supply chain volatility, and accelerating technology transfers.

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As one of the most important global bio-health conventions, BIO KOREA 2021 International Convention has garnered great attention from home and abroad. To facilitate the discussion on the future bio-health industry in the ‘COVID-19 era’, the BIO KOREA 2021 to be held on June 9 to 21 will evolve around the theme of “New Normal: Breaking Barriers with Bio Innovation”.

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A study led by researchers from the Institute Cajal of Spanish Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid, Spain in collaboration with the Bioengineering Department of George Mason University in Virginia, U.S. has updated one of the world’s largest databases on neuronal types, Hippocampome.org.

The study, which is published in the journal PLOS Biology, represents the most comprehensive mapping performed to date between neural activity recoded in vivo and identified neuron types. This major breakthrough may enable biologically meaningful computer modeling of the full neuronal circuit of the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in memory function.

Image: https://medicalxpress.com

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Are you a biohealth start-up in Maryland, DC or Virginia seeking feedback on your biohealth business idea, pitch deck, or commercialization plan? Schedule your feedback session with BHI EIRs on one of the following dates. Pre-registration is required; Sign up here tinyurl.com/EIRfeedback

For questions/more information, contact BHI.

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