357th Edition – June 11, 2019

Catalyze and BioHealth Innovation announce transatlantic partnership.

Amsterdam and Rockville, Maryland — Catalyze and BioHealth Innovation, Inc. have entered an agreement to actively bridge the Life Sciences communities in the US and the EU. This transatlantic partnership will increase opportunities for translating biohealth discoveries to market through grant writing services, expanded technology commercialization and international soft-landing support. The two parties have a wide range of resources and knowledge which combined will better aid in delivering high-impact, customer-specific solutions.

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Whether you’re starting a business, relocating one, or just moving to live and work, there are endless reasons for why Maryland is the top state to relocate to. The BioHealth Capital Region continues to climb the GEN’s annual ranking of the nation’s top biopharma clusters, and was ranked fourth in 2018. There are many factors that make Maryland a great place to headquarter your BioHealth company. Biotech and life science companies are high-risk high expense ventures, and the location of your company is key to its success.

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Johns Hopkins has ranked among the top 10 patent-earners since 2014.

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Emergent BioSolutions CEO Robert Kramer Sr. sits down with Yahoo Finance’s Dan Roberts, Melody Hahm and Myles Udland on “YFi AM” to discuss the fight over drug pricing and hear how the biopharmaceutical company is seeking to make Narcan, a life-saving drug that blocks the effects of an opioid overdose, more affordable and accessible.

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The two health care organizations have been investing separately in health technology and companies for several years.

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a five-year $175 million cooperative funding agreement to the University of Maryland for collaborative research in Earth system science.

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The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) released “Transforming Ideas into Advances: Best Practices in State and Regional Bioscience Economic Development Initiatives” today at the 2019 BIO International Convention.

The fifth edition of the Best Practices Guide is the bioscience industry’s leading comprehensive analysis of state legislative and regulatory initiatives in support of economic development.

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Altimmune, Inc. (ALT), a clinical-stage biotechnology company, today announced that it has received additional patent protection for its HepTcell and ALT-702 programs in the United States.

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Although the recent $110 million funding round for Thrive Earlier Detection Corp. was impressive — it is certainly not the biggest we’ve seen around Maryland to date.

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BRAINBox Solutions today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Device Designation for the company’s BRAINBox TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) test in development, the first to aid in both the diagnosis and prognosis of mild TBI (concussion). The BRAINBox TBI test is a multi-modality, quantitative test that combines injury-related blood protein biomarkers with computerized neurological assessments.

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The Georgia Tech alum is the first Spanish-born president of an American university.

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Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS) today announced approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Prior Approval Supplement (PAS) submitted by the company for its oral cholera vaccine, Vaxchora® (Cholera Vaccine, Live, Oral). The PAS supports the change in storage conditions of the vaccine from frozen to refrigerated at 2-8°C and the transfer of bulk drug substance manufacturing from Emergent’s product development facility in San Diego to its manufacturing facility in Bern, Switzerland. The PAS also covers changes in labeling regarding these developments. The company’s oral cholera vaccine is the only FDA-licensed vaccine for the prevention of cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae serogroup O1, a potentially serious intestinal disease.

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The new chairman of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) is promising to crack down on “bad actors” that increase drug prices “dramatically”—in part by expelling member companies that carry out the sky-high hikes.

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Governor Ralph Northam today announced $2.51 million in funding in support of 41 Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) awards. The projects represent exciting advancements in five industries: clean energy, cybersecurity, data analytics, life sciences, and unmanned systems.

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Fortune 500 healthcare company Baxter International is planning to partner with a trio of Baltimore organizations.

The Chicago-based company plans to work with Johns Hopkins University, LifeBridge Health and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the fifth round of its Growth Accelerator Fund Competition to recognize innovative accelerators, including incubators, co-working startup communities or other similar models, to compete for prizes of $50,000 each for a total of $3 million.

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Johns Hopkins University is planning a bold new approach to career development for students and alumni that includes opening three new administrative offices, launching new initiatives, and better integrating career and life design into the academic and co-curricular experience of all Hopkins students and postdocs.

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Whether you have a medical device, diagnostic, health IT app, or therapeutic, if you have to obtain FDA approval to commercialize your product, you should attend this event! Learn about the obstacles, opportunities, draft guidances and new pathways you must consider when creating a regulatory strategy. In this ever-changing environment, the key to success is both transparency and a keen understanding of the options available for your regulatory pathway.

June 19, 2019 6:00pm-8:30pm

Hood College, 401 Rosemont Avenue, Frederick, MD 21701

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Maryland state delegate Lily Qi shares her path to becoming a first-generation Chinese-American lawmaker. Qi is from Shanghai.

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At the molecular level, we may not age gracefully; that is, we may not follow a continuous, linear downward slope. Instead, we may fall precipitously after we lose control of our exquisitely balanced anti-aging programs, sometime in our 50s. These findings, derived from a study of tissue-coding and noncoding RNA, may help explain why human disease burden increases so sharply from the sixth decade of life onward. They may also lead to therapies that enhance longevity, provided the natural termination of protective gene expression patterns does not indicate that they have outlived their usefulness.

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Health IT vendor Cerner has revealed a new challenge that asks developers to improve patients’ access to EHRs, according to a company news release.

Dubbed the 2019 code App Challenge, the contest encourages participants to build apps on Cerner’s platforms.

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Biotechnology venture capital firm Third Rock Ventures has raised $770m for its fifth fund, a sign that investor interest in funding early-stage science continues unabated despite volatile public markets.

The investment vehicle, the largest ever raised by Third Rock in its 12-year history, will support investments in 10 to 12 companies. The Boston-based firm’s new fund came together quickly.

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Ceres Nanosciences, Inc. (Ceres), University of Virginia (UVA), and George Mason University (Mason) today announced the receipt of a $600,000 award from the Virginia Catalyst for the development of a Nanotrap® liquid biopsy collection device. This award will be matched by $1.2 million in product development funding by Ceres Nanosciences.

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