BioHealth Innovation in partnership with ProductSavvy, Montgomery County Economic Development and Rockville Economic Development Inc. (REDI), recently launched the region’s newest startup accelerator, called Relevant Health.
Now, armed with a fat rolodex of premium contacts—spanning all four organizations—complete with leaders from the regulatory, health, venture capital, government contractor and medical research communities, Relevant Health aims to “build the health tech capital.”
The freshly launched Rockville, Md.-based accelerator will focus on fostering the development of health-tech startups, many of whom do not need to navigate the usually complicated and stringent regulatory standards that, for example, biotech firms must meet.
Relevant Health, a health-tech accelerator based in Rockville, announced and welcomed its inaugural cohort Tuesday.
The seven selected startups will begin their five-month program this week. According to the press release, the program will involve “intensive product development focus,” with the aim of “enabling [the startups] to improve their skills to define, develop, position and launch a viable health tech product.”
Rockville-based health-tech incubator Relevant Health is out with its first seven companies that will begin co-working in the facility over the next five months.
“We didn’t want to just attract the best and brightest from around the region, we wanted the best and brightest from around the United States and elsewhere,” managing partner Rich Bendis told The Washington Post. “We have resources and assets that are one of a kind in our backyard that really aren’t present elsewhere.”
Relevant Health, a health tech accelerator in Rockvillle, Maryland, has picked seven companies for its inaugural class. Among the participants in the five-month program are a wearables developer seeking to help people avoid injuries from heavy lifting and a speech therapy tool to make learning seem more like a game.
The accelerator got started this year through a partnership between BioHealth Innovation, Montgomery County’s Economic Development department and Product Savvy, which is managing day-to-day operations. Here’s a summary of the members.
Baltimore-based AgeWell Biometrics has been selected a member of the inaugural startup class with Relevant Health, a health technology startup accelerator in Rockville, officials of the accelerator said Tuesday. “Relevant Health chose candidates who have a vision and business model for a product that promises significant positive impacts in the health sector,” stated Rich Bendis, BioHealth Innovation…
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has named the 11 local business leaders who will be charged with steering the county’s nascent economic development corporation.
The nonprofit Montgomery County Economic Development Corp. will replace the county’s Department of Economic Development when it launches in the spring. Change happens fast: Leggett first suggested the idea in February, formally proposed it in May and earned County Council approval in July.
Global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) today announced the promotion of Sara Nayeem, M.D., to Partner. Dr. Nayeem joined NEA’s healthcare team in 2009 and is focused on investments in biopharma.
“This promotion recognizes Sara’s acumen as an investor and her deep commitment to the entrepreneurs and founders with whom she partners,” said David Mott, General Partner and head of NEA’s healthcare investing practice. “We are pleased to acknowledge her many contributions to NEA’s biopharma practice and to our firm, and look forward to her continued success in this new role.”
Efforts to fight antibiotic-resistant infections — often dubbed superbugs — typically involve strategies of curbing overuse of the antibiotics we already have or finding alternatives.
But what if those pesky superbug infections could simply be prevented in the first place? It’s the strategy Gaithersburg-based MedImmune is taking with two of its vaccine candidates aimed at bacterial infections.
GlycoMimetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: GLYC) announced today that the first healthy participant has been dosed with a subcutaneous (SC) formulation of rivipansel in a Phase 1, single ascending-dose clinical study to evaluate its safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics. Rivipansel (GMI-1070) is an investigational compound being studied as a potential therapy for the treatment of vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) in sickle cell disease and is being developed by Pfizer Inc. under a worldwide licensing agreement the two companies entered into in 2011.
The SC formulation of rivipansel utilizes Enhanze™ Technology, licensed by Pfizer from Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. This technology is based on a proprietary recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20) that temporarily modifies components of the extracellular matrix in order to aid in the dispersion and absorption of other SC injected therapeutic drugs.
The booming biotech sector is putting a premium on lab space, and fund managers are buying in.
One of their favorite targets is Pasadena, California-based Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc, which owns the largest collection of high-end lab space in such research clusters as San Diego, San Francisco and Cambridge, Massachusetts. A total of 64 mutual funds and hedge funds have reported adding shares of the company to their portfolios in the current quarter, a 56 percent jump from the quarter ending in September, according to Morningstar data.
MacroGenics said today it has regained full global rights to the Phase I cancer compound enoblituzumab (MGA271), after Servier opted not to exercise its option to develop and commercialize the B7-H3-targeting monoclonal antibody in Europe and other countries under a four-year-old collaboration.
That collaboration generated a $20 million upfront payment from Servier and could have resulted in up to $450 million for MacroGenics.
Personal Genome Diagnostics, a Baltimore company that analyzes cancer patients’ genes to improve treatment and diagnosis, has received a $21.4 million venture capital investment led by New Enterprise Associates.
The company plans to use the money to sell more of its technology to sequence and analyze genes in biopsy samples.
ClearPath Development Company (ClearPath) announced today the launch of its second vaccine company, NVC (Nosocomial Vaccine Corporation), with the support of its partner, Astellas Pharma Inc. The partnership between ClearPath and Astellas was established to support the goal of building a global vaccine franchise and launched its first company, RSV Corporation (RSVC), in December 2013. NVC has initiated research collaborations with two partners to develop a nosocomial vaccine; Affinivax Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.); and the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (Baltimore). The research collaboration will utilize Affinivax’s proprietary vaccine platform, Multiple Antigen Presentation System (MAPS), to develop vaccines that prevent bacterial nosocomial infections, also referred to as healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
Mid-Atlantic Bio Angels (MABA) announces today that Sisu Global Health (http://www.sisuglobalhealth.com) was voted as “Best in Show” at MABA’s 1st Pitch Life Science event, which took place at the Cira Center on September 30, 2015. Sisu is a medical device developer with a pipeline of products designed to address challenges unique to emerging markets. Hemafuse, the Company’s first product, is an alternative to donor blood and could benefit 20 million cases in Africa ($600 million) each year.
According to Carolyn Yarina, CEO of Sisu, Healthcare systems in emerging markets struggle because 80% of medical technology is designed for 10% of the world’s population. Our products solve that problem by commercializing surgical devices that can effectively lower costs and can be used in countries where both urban and rural medicine must be supported by effective design, logistics and available medical infrastructure.
University of Maryland (UM) Ventures and Glycocept, Inc. announced today that the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) has granted Glycocept worldwide, exclusive licensing rights to a UMB patent and technology to modify monoclonal antibodies to alter their effector functions. Eric J. Sundberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), and Co-Director, Division of Basic Science, Institute of Human Virology (IHV), and Beatriz Trastoy, Ph.D., post-doctoral fellow at Dr. Sundberg’s laboratory at the IHV/UMSOM are the patent inventors. Biopharmaceutical industry veteran Ronald P. Dudek, who most recently served as Vice President of Commercial Strategy at Juno Therapeutics, Inc., is Glycocept’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
University of Maryland (UM) Ventures and Educational and Scientific LLC (ESL), announced today that the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) granted ESL exclusive licensing rights to its interest in the commercial development of a molecule whose anticancer properties were jointly discovered by ESL and UMB. The molecule has consistently demonstrated its potential for the treatment of a variety of cancers, particularly lung, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, pancreatic and prostate cancer.
Henry Lowe, Ph.D., D.Sc., F.R.S.H., an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) is the Founder of ESL. Dr. Lowe collaborated with Dr. Joseph Bryant, DVM, Associate Professor of Pathology and Director, Animal Models Division, at the UM SOM Institute of Human Virology (IHV) in the realization of this discovery.
Northwest Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: NWBO) (“NW Bio”), a U.S. biotechnology company developing DCVax® personalized immune therapies for solid tumor cancers, announced today that the Company has entered into agreement for funding of $30 million from Woodford Investment Management in the UK (“Woodford”).
Woodford will purchase $30 million of the Company’s common stock at $5.50 per share, for a total of 5,454,545 shares, raising Woodford’s total holdings to 25,915,937 shares, or about 28.1% of the Company. The purchase will take place in a closing on or before October 22, 2015.
Congratulations – you just got a Notice of Award for an NIH SBIR/STTR grant – now what? How do you actually use those funds? This educational webinar about the Payment Management System will help you figure that out, with plenty of time for Q&A. This is highly recommended for new awardees.
Learn more about the Payment Management System: http://bit.ly/HHSpms
Presenter: Nicole Dunning Chief, University and Non-Profit Payment Section Payment Management Services Program Support Center U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
ATCC, the premier global biological materials resource and standards organization, announces today that it has been selected by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) to provide vital cell lines to academic, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology organizations committed to speed a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that affects one in 100 people over age 60. While the average age at onset is 60, people have been diagnosed as young as 18. Recent research indicates that at least 1 million people in the United States, and more than 5 million worldwide, have Parkinson’s disease.
When the demand for hospital beds exceeds the supply, doctors might have to turn patients away. But a computer model developed by University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University researchers might help doctors better determine how many patients will be discharged and how many beds will be available on any given day.
“Hospitals tend to be highly utilized,” said Sean Barnes, an operations management professor involved with the model, “which means it can be hard to bring in new patients.”
Are you planning your career path or currently transitioning between careers? If you attended last January’s webinar on “Career Development,” and would like to have in-person insights from career coaches and recruiters perspective, join us at the Montgomery College (Germantown Campus) where we will host:
Rosemary Sisco, Principal Recruiter at Kelly Government Solutions
Ashley Bowman Clouser, Executive Recruiter at Search Solution Group
Cecilia Matthews, Director of Human Resources at MedImmune
These professionals will provide career advice on such skills as elevator pitches and making successful presentations. They will also present tips, methods, and resources for conducting a job search.
This year’s FLC Mid-Atlantic regional meeting will take place in conjunction with the Innovation 2 Commercialization (I2C) Conference November 2 – 3 at the Universities at Shady Grove Conference Center in Rockville, Maryland. Attendees will have the opportunity to attend a variety of technology transfer (T2) sessions and network with regional entrepreneurs.
Centering on the theme of “Innovation Through Collaboration,” this year’s meeting highlights will include:
Onevest, a New York based investment crowdfunding platform focused on funding start-up entities, has announced the launching today of its new “1,000 Angles” crowdfunding vehicle. Touted as the “world’s largest digital-first, invitation-only investor network,” Onevest seeks to modernize the way venture capital funds are formed and how they invest.
1000 Angels will include OneVest co-founders Tanya Prive and Alejandro Cremades but the new spin on VC investing has added Erica Duignan Minnihan as Managing Partner, Barry Shereck as CFO and Dasha Sukovatitsyn as Membership Co-ordinator.
More than 770 health care innovation companies are operating in Washington state, representing 6 percent of jobs in the state’s health-care industry, but producing more than 13 percent of the industry’s overall output, as measured by the value of the goods and services they produce.
By next summer, startups and small businesses will be able to raise up to $1 million in capital a year by using Internet portals to sell shares to anyone, not just accredited investors.
That’s because the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday finally adopted rules for securities-based crowdfunding. The rules implement a provision of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which was signed into law more than three years ago.
Maybe healthcare is thinking about data from wearable devices in all the wrong ways.
Speaking Thursday at the 12th annual Connected Health Symposium in Boston, Dr. Robert Pearl, CEO of Kaiser Permanente‘s Permanente Medical Group, said that, from a physician’s perspective, Fitbits and other fitness trackers are good for one thing: “December.” In other words, they make great Christmas gifts, but don’t serve much purpose in medical practice.
Recently, at the annual Dreamforce Conference in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella declared a new era in computing defined by wearable devices. “People keep asking the question what’s next after the smartphone? There are early signs of it, things you wear on your wrists, in your ear and on your eyes,” he said.
D.C. tech accelerator 1776’s new Crystal City location is designed to be a mixture of old and new — everything from the reclaimed wooden furniture and reused light fixtures to the brand new industrial kitchen and tech-heavy collaboration spaces.
Even the 27,000-square-foot space was recycled, thanks to 1776’s acquisition of the Disruption Corp. incubator, but the space has since undergone significant renovations. Co-founder Donna Harris took me on a tour of the new spot, which she said has been reimagined and rebuilt since June to foster a sense of community among 1776’s nearly 300 members in the D.C. area.
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