ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, June 4, 2013 – BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Central Maryland, is proud to announce the publication of the Central Maryland BioHealth Entrepreneur’s Resource and Finance Guide 2013. The Guide was developed by BHI, the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore and the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, in collaboration with the Baltimore Business Journal.
The Guide serves as a compendium of resources to biohealth innovators and entrepreneurs working to start and grow new companies and technologies in the region. This essential entrepreneurial resource includes a compilation of information on financial resources, university facilities and programs, economic development programs, and existing federal laboratory facilities and programs, as well as how to work with these assets. The Guide is one of the many projects BHI is developing to successfully transform the regional environment for biohealth startups through harnessing Central Maryland’s biohealth assets and establishing an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Guide has been distributed through the Baltimore and Washington business journal subscribers, and is being distributed to all regional partners. For your copy of the guide please download here or contact BioHealth Innovation for details on how to receive a hard copy.
BioHealth Innovation is working to assist relevant SBIR projects through its Commercial Relevance Program for the August 5th, 2013 NIH SBIR Deadline.
If your company is planning a submission for the August 5 deadline, BioHealth Innovation can assist with your submission. Through the BHI Commercial Relevance Program for SBIR/STTR projects select companies submit their federal funding concepts and receive pre-proposal feedback to help strengthen your application. Further support from BHI’s network of professional consultants and service providers is available to assist in improving your application. If you’re are planning a submission for the August 5 deadline contact Ethan Byler for details on possible support from BHI.
NIH SBIR Phase I Program
Companies to complete brief application describing the proposed SBIR project apply by June 18th
All companies notified of SBIR assistance by June 26th
Guidance, writing strategy, direction, and review sessions to be schedule to enable you through grant submission
Feedback and redlined comments on written drafts and proposals materials as well as final submission assistance
BioHeaIth Innovation aims to transform Central Maryland into a commercialization hub by building an entrepreneurial ecosystem using the research, funding, networks and business development resources available in the region.
The market for Health Information Technology concepts and new products are moving at a rapid pace. Since the signing of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) by President Obama in 2009 that allocated $36 billion to aid investments in healthcare IT and spurring new initiatives like the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) the environment and funding available to test new products significantly escalated.
Fast forward four years—there remains to be enormous untapped market opportunity with many new products being brought to fruition and highly innovative new concepts under development by the private and public sectors.
Maryland, a significant center of the health care industry nationally and home to the National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, Johns Hopkins University, the University System of Maryland, and a robust private sector has emerging opportunities within the Health IT industry sector from telemedicine and remote monitoring to electronic medical records and mobile health.
RFA-TW-13-002: Research on the Role of Epigenetics in Social, Behavioral, Environmental and Biological Relationships, throughout the Life-Span and across Generations (R21) This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages exploratory and developmental grant applications to lay the foundation for innovative and collaborative basic research on the role of epigenetics in social, behavioral, environmental and biological relationships, throughout the life-span and across generations. Research plans that are responsive to this FOA will use existing bio-psycho-social and environmental data from human cohorts or animal studies that have biospecimens available for epigenetic profiling.
RFA-HL-14-015: Clinical Coordinating Center (CCC) for the NHLBI Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL) Clinical Trials Network (U01) This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is for a Clinical Coordinating Center (CCC) for a new National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Clinical Trials Network for the Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (ALI) (PETAL Network). The Network will develop and conduct randomized controlled clinical trials to prevent, treat, and/or improve the outcome of adult patients with, or at risk, for ALI or the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). This FOA solicits applications for a CCC and runs parallel with a separate FOA for the CCs (RFA-HL-14-014).
RFA-HL-14-014: Clinical Centers (CC) for the NHLBI Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL) Clinical Trials Network (U01) This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is for Clinical Centers (CC) for a new National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Clinical Trials Network for the Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (ALI) (PETAL Network). The Network will develop and conduct at least 3-5 randomized controlled clinical trials to prevent, treat, and/or improve the outcome of adult patients with, or at risk for, ALI or the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This FOA solicits applications for CCs and runs parallel with a separate FOA for the CCC (RFA-HL-14-015).
Please note that most links to RFAs, PAs, and Guide Notices will take you to the NIH Web site. RFPs will take you to FedBizOpps. Links to RFPs will not work past their proposal receipt date. Archived versions of RFPs posted on FedBizOpps can be found on the FedBizOpps site using the FedBizOpps search function. Under “Document to Search,” select Archived Documents.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has entered into a collaborative agreement with Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the company’s portfolio of clinical stage antibacterial assets for treating hospital and biothreat infections.
The contract is unique in that it is the first in which BARDA has taken a portfolio approach to funding drug development with industry.
Through new agreements with the Canadian BC Cancer Agency and Columbia University, the company now has access to biomarkers for lymphoma, glioblastoma, and several other cancers. These biomarkers will be developed into diagnostic assays that can assist physicians in choosing targeted treatments, Qiagen says.
The company’s glioblastoma cancer biomarker, acquired from Columbia University, detects the presence of FGFR-TACC fusion genes. The lymphoma biomarker, acquired from BC Cancer Agency, detects the Y641 EZH2 gene mutation. This type of lymphoma is targeted by pharmaceutical manufacturers like Epizyme and Constellation.
Partner companies Theravance and the GlaxoSmithKline have received Food and Drug Administration clearance for their new drug for the treatment of COPD, Breo Ellipta. COPD encompasses what used to be known as emphysema and chronic bronchitis – the new drug should be an improvement on current treatment options which can ease the symptoms of this disease. COPD, which is strongly linked to smoking, is the third most significant cause of death in America.
Curtis Rosebraugh, director of FDA Office of Drug Evaluation II, commented that this new long-term maintenance treatment for COPD will provide new care options for the millions of people in the USA who suffer from the condition. The companies have stated that the drug should be available during the third quarter of 2013. Breo Ellipta, which requires a single dose per day, should surpass existing treatments which require two doses.
COPD
COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a progressive condition (one which continually worsens) which causes breathing problems in those who suffer from it. The symptoms are coughing and the associated overproduction of mucus, shortness of breath especially during exercise and tightness of chest. COPD is also associated with a greater susceptibility to chest-infections. Doctors used to refer to ’emphysema’ and ‘chronic bronchitis’, though these are now officially grouped under this general condition.
A disease which is currently under-diagnosed, this condition refers to the inflammation and subsequent damage to the interior of the lungs, and results in lower efficiency in taking on oxygen and in problems with the mechanics of breathing. Smoking is the top cause of COPD, though a genetic predisposition can cause it in some people. While the damage which it causes cannot be repaired, sufferers who subsequently quit smoking can slow down the progress of the disease.
QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced two agreements adding promising new biomarkers involving glioblastoma, lymphoma and other cancers to QIAGEN’s expanding portfolio of potential companion diagnostics that is being developed to help doctors use a patient’s genomic information to guide treatment decisions.
In the glioblastoma project, QIAGEN has entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing option on FGFR-TACC fusion genes with Columbia University in New York. QIAGEN intends to develop this biomarker into a diagnostic test for routine use in diagnostic workups, which may enable doctors to identify glioblastoma patients who could benefit from targeted treatments now under development. Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive form of primary brain tumor, a serious unmet medical need because the disease is generally fatal despite aggressive therapy. Fusions between members of the FGFR and TACC gene families also have been identified recently as present in several other malignancies, including bladder cancers.
The Greater Washington Board of Trade is forming a joint task force with the Greater Baltimore Committee and the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore to promote the region as a global hotbed for the cybersecurity industry.
The Baltimore-Washington Cyber Task Force plans to work with both public and private sector groups to develop a strategy for cyber industry growth around the new U.S. Cyber Command at the Army’s Fort Meade, located halfway between Washington and Baltimore.
React Labs, an early stage company commercializing a comprehensive mobile technology platform for real-time polling, has been awarded $100,000 in funding from the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII), company officials announce today.
Founded by University of Maryland Professor Philip Resnik, who holds joint appointments in the Department of Linguistics and at the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), React Labs offers a mobile application that allows a very large numbers of participants to register their moment-by-moment reactions to live and televised events, providing a highly engaging user experience and producing rich, detailed data for analysis.
A team of students at the Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering has designed for NASA a new stethoscope that delivers accurate heart- and body-sounds to medics who are trying to assess astronauts’ health on long missions in noisy spacecraft.
Space is serene, because no air means no sound. But inside the average spacecraft, with its whirring fans, humming computers and buzzing instruments, is about as raucous as a party filled with laughing, talking people.
Maryland was recently named the top state in the nation for entrepreneurship and innovation. The state has the second highest concentration of STEM employment and adds STEM jobs faster than all but five other states.
With Maryland’s commitment to growth in science, technology, engineering and math, UMBC continues to develop and expand its professional programs to meet the needs of the state’s STEM-centric workforce.
The board of GenVec Inc. has voted to liquidate and dissolve the struggling Gaithersburg biotech, it announced Tuesday in a securities filing.
The move follows a string of setbacks for GenVec, which three years ago saw its lead pancreatic cancer drug candidate, TNFerade, fail in late-stage trials. In 2011, longtime CEO Paul Fischer announced his retirement from the company.
Please join us for an exclusive, invitation-only event to be held in conjunction with PwC and the Technology Council of Maryland.
This event has been designed especially with you in mind. You’ll have the opportunity to network with your peers in an intimate setting and learn what it took companies within your industry to grow and become $1 billion market leaders. Presenter Brian Williams is a successful life sciences entrepreneur. Now consulting for PwC, Brian will present a roadmap other life science companies have followed to experience explosive growth in a dynamic and demanding environment.
Amid the volatile blend of opportunity and challenge that characterize the global life sciences industry, only a few small companies have managed to catapult their revenue over the $1 billion mark over the past two decades. Whether they chose to expand their focus and product portfolios, enter new geographies, or grow their core business, these aspiring giants pursued three distinct strategies to jump start growth:
Leveraging core product/technology capabilities to launch differentiated products
Using mergers & acquisitions and partnerships to gain new products and/or expand geographic presence
Building a strong, stable leadership team armed with a compelling vision and relentless drive
We hope you can join us to explore these topics and discuss their applicability to you and your company.
When: Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Time: 8:00 – 8:30 am – Registration and networking 8:30 – 10:30 am – Program
Location: The Universities at Shady Grove Conference Center 9630 Gudelsky Drive Building II, Room 11-1042 Rockville, Maryland
If you have any questions regarding the event, please Deana Mary at deana.mary@us.pwc.com or 703.918.3631<
QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) and SIP Biotech Development Co., Ltd. (BioBAY) today announced the opening of QIAGEN (Suzhou) Translational Medicine Center, a translational medicine R&D Corporation which aims to accelerate the discovery and validation of biomarkers, and to create companion diagnostics for the Chinese market. QIAGEN (Suzhou) is a joint venture of QIAGEN and BioBAY, the innovative life sciences cluster in Suzhou Industrial Park near Shanghai. The companies announced the launch of QIAGEN (Suzhou) today in an opening ceremony on the BioBAY campus, which currently hosts more than 330 companies and research groups.
QIAGEN (Suzhou) will provide services and consulting with state-of-the-art QIAGEN molecular technologies for international and Chinese pharmaceutical companies, as well as research institutes to enable translational medicine, the multidisciplinary process of advancing discoveries from laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside. The center will work with partners located at BioBAY and elsewhere in China to provide fully integrated biomarker solutions to accelerate drug development, as well as to commercialize companion diagnostics. The four key service sections include biobanking, pharmacogenetics, next generation sequencing (NGS) and pharmacogenomics. This innovative alliance builds on QIAGEN’s leading global position in Personalized Healthcare, using genomic information to produce individualized treatment decisions for patients. QIAGEN (Suzhou) is expected to grow to about 50 employees within three years.
It’s tough to move the needle on a multi-billion-dollar venture fund. That’s one reason New Enterprise Associates, which has managed mega-funds about as long as anyone in the business, makes a habit of taking large stakes in portfolio companies.
That strategy can pay off well in the event of a big exit – which is what happened last week with the IPO of data analysis provider Tableau Software. NEA, a backer in all of Tableau’s venture funding rounds, was the largest shareholder at the time of the offering. And as Tableau shares soared post-debut, NEA’s stake did as well. The firm sold 1 million shares in the offering for $31 million, and its remaining 18.6 million shares were worth more than $900 million as of last week.
If you’re a medical intern, most of what you need to do your job can be pulled off a computer screen: Blood test results. Paged messages. Orders to start a medication. All but, of course, how sick a patient is.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, suspecting that more and more of an intern’s time is spent in front of a computer, looked into just how today’s intern spends her working hours on an inpatient ward. They asked trained college students to shadow 29 internal medicine interns from two different Baltimore teaching hospitals and document how much time they spent talking to patients, eating lunch, reading charts, and the like — over the course of three weeks. Their recently published results confirm a trend that old-timers nostalgically lament and that those of us in training know to be all too true: Only a small percentage of our time is spent in direct patient care.
Remember Plexxikon? The Berkeley, CA-based company had a lot of talent for structural biology-based drug design, an impressive new treatment for melanoma, and a strong management team.
Two years ago, nobody on Wall Street cared one whit. Plexxikon flirted with the idea of going public, found little interest, and sold itself off to Japan-based Daiichi Sankyo for a more than 10-fold return on investment. It was a poster child for how dead the biotech IPO market was in 2010 and 2011.
Five top Japanese drug companies are to open their “libraries” of experimental compounds to scrutiny by scientists hunting new treatments for malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases affecting the world’s poor.
The initiative, announced on Thursday, is the first project under a new $100 million partnership between the drugmakers, the Japanese government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund research into neglected tropical diseases.
This week, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius posted separate entries on the White House Blog touting the effect of federal initiatives on health IT adoption and health industry innovation, FierceHealthIT reports.
The posts were written in response to a New York Times commentary published by columnist Thomas Friedman last week about health industry innovation related to the Affordable Care Act and other federal initiatives.
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and participating Institutes invite grant applications for research on the development of safe, real-time, non-invasive (or minimally invasive), in vivo methods to assess the development and function of the human placenta.
Background
The placenta is essential for the maintenance of pregnancy. The prominent function of the placenta is in the transfer of nutrients, gases and waste products between the mother and fetus. It is effectively the lung, gut, and kidney of the fetus. Abnormalities of placental development and function are known to underlie many major pathologies of pregnancy including spontaneous preterm birth, fetal growth restriction, and preeclampsia. Most information on placental biology is obtained studying placental tissue obtained from pathological pregnancies, such as a preterm deliveries occurring predominately in the third trimester, or from term deliveries in which placental development has already crested. Hence, there is a paucity of information obtained earlier in gestation, a period of time when many of the pregnancy pathologies are believed to have their origins, as well as very limited information gleaned throughout gestation from normal pregnancies. The development of real-time, non-invasive (or minimally invasive) methods to assess the development and functionality of the placenta in vivo throughout gestation would serve as valuable research tools to enhance our understanding of placental biology and rooted pathologies. The development of these tools could lead to the identification of markers and predictors of pregnancy outcome, and provide a future foundation for better pregnancy monitoring in the clinical setting.
BioHealth Innovation (BHI) is a regionally-oriented, private-public partnership functioning as an innovation intermediary focused on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Maryland.
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collaborative agreement with Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the company’s portfolio of clinical stage antibacterial assets for treating hospital and biothreat infections. 
Through new agreements with the Canadian BC Cancer Agency and Columbia University, the company now has access to biomarkers for lymphoma, glioblastoma, and several other cancers. These biomarkers will be developed into diagnostic assays that can assist physicians in choosing targeted treatments, Qiagen says.
