212th Edition – July 19, 2016

Mitre and the University System of Maryland have selected five U.S. academic professionals as recipients of $293,000 in seed grants to conduct studies on cybersecurity challenges, ExecutiveBiz reported Friday.

The company said Thursday the grants went to researchers from George Mason University, University of Maryland in Baltimore, University of Maryland in College Park, University of Texas at San Antonio and University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The Maryland Department of Commerce is joining with the state’s top research universities and other life sciences partners and stakeholders to create two or more Centers of Excellence around the state to support cell, gene, and regenerative therapies, as well as medical devices and 3-D printing. This partnership with The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland, College Park will help position Maryland as a leader in commercialization and clinical translation of next-generation medicines and medical devices and ensure the state remains a leader in healthcare innovation. Additional partners include the Center for Medical Technology Policy and biotechnology, pharmaceutical, contract manufacturing, and medical device companies.

Rockville has started the process of finding a new manager to fill the city’s top management spot. The Mayor and Council hired The Novak Consulting Group to conduct a national search for Rockville’s new city manager.

The consultant will hold public meetings in July to engage residents and businesses as they develop a candidate profile. The consultant will work with community members to identify high priority issues facing the community, and what leadership and management traits the city manager should possess.

When: July 28th 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Where: BRI 9410 Key West Ave Rockville, MD 20850

Join BioBuzz and July Co-Sponsors BRI and Azzur IT, as we visit BRI’s offices and labs at their new location in Rockville on July 28th. Biomedical Research Institute (BRI), a 501 c 3 non-profit company, which focuses on the development of diagnostic and vaccine solutions to Schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that impacts sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil and rural Asia where 800 million people live and over 200 million people are infected.

Researchers at several Maryland universities as well as the National Cancer Institute have been awarded $3,844,000 in grants by the American Cancer Society. The grants, which started July 1, went to researchers with Johns Hopkins University; University of Maryland, College Park; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and National Cancer Institute in a variety of disciplines.

Venture capitalists invested $72.25 million in Maryland companies in the second quarter, the lowest amount in two years and down 34 percent from the first quarter.

Maryland college students benefit from nine universities in one location.

Twenty-two-year-old Allison Hishmeh is about to start a new chapter in life now that she’s graduated from the University of Maryland College Park. Even though she recently received a marketing degree from the school, Hishmeh rarely stepped foot on campus.

“Traditional” and “by the book” have never really been a part of Kevin Plank’s business outlook. When he started Under Armour 20 years ago he set out to make a better T-shirt and felt that the apparel industry was operating (and still is) with materials, machines and ideas that were decades behind other industries.

Virginia Tech is talking to large pharmaceutical firms about cooperating with the university on research projects and opening offices inside Roanoke’s new health care innovation district.

Michael Friedlander, founder of Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and a driving force behind the city’s growing health care industry, said that sort of partnership is only a concept, but affirmed that conversations are underway.

Vibrent Health officials said their efforts will receive $74 million over five years.

In the complex world of children’s cancer research, no independent organization currently coordinates efforts between academic scientists, drug developers, and policy regulators to advance new treatments and cures. Moving forward, CureSearch is proud to play the role of convener and collaborator to bring these key parties together in a way that is singularly focused on accelerating the commercialization of children’s cancer treatments to save children now.

Roche is rumored to make a move on the California biotech BioMarin. Despite a slightly weakened pipeline, Roche appears undeterred and previous offers were predicted to be around $15Bn.

As big as some of the other industry veterans, BioMarin was founded in the 90’s boom in Biotech in San Rafaele, California. The deal itself is entirely based on rumor and anonymous sources, originally appearing on the blog Betaville.

Cleveland is home to more than 700 bioscience companies, a powerful ecosystem that draws strength from a clinical, research and educational foundation dedicated to growth and medical innovation. A new rebranding initiative led by a host of area institutions is ready to send this message out into the world.

Called “The Medical Capital,” the campaign’s centerpiece is a website where visitors can access information regarding biomedical investments and start-up activity in the region. Organizers are also offering a video showcasing the region’s burgeoning tech-based assets, complete with testimonials from investors and CEOs. Social media is another facet of the effort.

Advanced biomaterials joined with small molecules and biologics can allow regeneration and restoration functions of human tissues and organs.

The scope of application has extended far beyond acute injuries, chronic diseases and congenital malformations into therapeutics, research and difficult-to-treat diseases.

CHINA is on the cusp of an innovation revolution, with the country’s biomedical and healthcare sectors making great leaps in the last decade. The achievements are quite visible: the exponential growth of publication of academic articles, patent filings, international exchanges, globalisation of new drug R&D activities, and accessibility of new drug R&D technology capability platforms from both China and overseas, just to name a few.