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GERMANTOWN, Md., Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Deka Biosciences (“Deka”) today announced the appointments of Stanley Frankel, M.D., FACP, as senior clinical advisor, interim chief medical officer and scientific advisory board member, and Stuart Chaffee, Ph.D. as an independent director and chairman of the Board. Deka is a privately held biotech company developing next-generation cytokine therapies to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases based on a patient’s individual immune response. Deka’s lead asset, DK2¹⁰ (EGFR), is currently being evaluated for the treatment of multiple solid tumors in a Phase 1 clinical trial.

In a landmark study led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, researchers discovered for the first time that a certain kind of protein similar to hemoglobin, called cytoglobin, plays an important role in the development of the heart. Specifically, it affects the correct left-right pattern of the heart and other asymmetric organs. The findings, published today in the journal Nature Communications, could eventually lead to the development of new therapeutic interventions to alter the processes that lead to these defects.

The team, led by senior author Paola Corti, PhD, along with along with University of Maryland School of Medicine Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD, as senior co-author, used CRISPR gene editing technologies to knock out the cytoglobin gene in zebrafish. The lack of cytoglobin caused the development of embryos with a mirrored heart, meaning the heart had a reversed left-right pattern. In humans, cytoglobin is involved in processes involving nitric oxide, a compound that helps regulate healthy blood flow to organs.

On December 8, 2023, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a draft guidance document regarding the government’s exercise of “march-in” rights under the Bayh-Dole Act. The following Q&A, in connection with our previously published Client Alert, illuminates the details of the Proposed Framework.

Q: If my company takes SBIR/STTR funding from a federal agency, does the Bayh-Dole Act apply?

A: Yes. A company that receives Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding is considered a “contractor” under the Bayh-Dole Act. As such, inventions conceived of or first actually reduced to practice using SBIR or STTR funds will be subject to the Bayh-Dole Act. This applies even if the funds are used only to develop confirmatory data for an invention conceived of without the use of SBIR or STTR funds.

by Ellen D. Harpel | Dec 17, 2023

As Smart Incentives marks its 10th year, we have been revealing the top ten ways that incentives have changed since 2013. We are pleased to share the full list of incentive trends here in our last blog article of 2023. 

1. Big incentive deals are getting bigger. Top projects receive significantly higher offers than in the past. The most prominent incentive packages are for new electric vehicle and semiconductor facilities. However, looking past these high profile projects, the average incentive offer has been surprisingly stable over the past decade.

2. The rise of remote work. Remote and hybrid work continue to reshuffle our living and working patterns. Incentives to attract remote workers have become part of the landscape. Many traditional business incentive programs are adjusting how they count workers to account for remote or hybrid work.

3. Better project compliance and reporting. State and local governments have improved their ability to track incentivized projects, monitor performance, and share results with internal and external stakeholders. 

Have you ever wondered about the true impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the BioHealth industry? In this episode of BioTalk with Rich Bendis, we have the privilege of hosting Dr. Juergen Klenk, a Principal at Deloitte and a Board Member at BioHealth Innovation. Dr. Klenk brings a wealth of expertise and experience with a unique background combining formal scientific training and entrepreneurial ventures.

Join us as we embark on an insightful discussion about the current state of AI in the BioHealth industry, diving deep into the realities and challenges of this cutting-edge technology. Dr. Klenk shares his interest in AI and the reasons behind its increasing prominence in the field. We explore the historical origins of the AI hype cycle and how we’ve reached the stage we’re in today.

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Irazu Oncology, which is using a platform built by researchers at University of Maryland, Baltimore to develop cancer vaccines, has secured $2.6 million in debt from an undisclosed source, according to a recent listing on Crunchbase.

Founded by Marco A. Chacón, an industry veteran who founded and ran Paragon Bioservices for over two decades, Irazu Oncology is commercializing UMB’s novel immunotherapeutic vaccine technology. It operates out of the University of Maryland BioPark. The company is a winner of TEDCO’s Maryland Innovation Initiative Company Formation Awards.

Novel Approach

Irazu Oncology has a licensing deal with UMB to commercialize a membrane vesicle vaccine development platform built at the university by a research team led by James Galen, Ph. D. The platform uses the outer membrane of vesicles — a structure within or outside a cell — as cancer vaccines that can stimulate an immune response. Irazu Oncology’s proprietary, attenuated bacteria are engineered to produce OMVs bearing tumor antigens on their surface. These antigens are delivered to various sites in the body, stimulating a natural immune system that can destroy cancerous cells.

By Dan Brendel – Staff Reporter, Washington Business Journal Dec 15, 2023 – 

United Therapeutics Corp. is teeing up major organ production facility at its Silver Spring biotech campus through a proposed land swap with Montgomery County.

The company (NASDAQ: UTHR), a longtime drugmaker of pulmonary hypertension therapies that in recent years has expanded into bioengineered organs, has agreed to trade several parcels it owns for a county-owned site on 3.8 acres adjacent to its headquarters at 1000 Spring St.

The site, now home to a parking garage and other county operations, could yield up to 831,000 square feet under existing zoning.