BHI News Section

Investment in research & development in the U.S. life science industry will turn a corner in 2013 after three years of reduced spending, if a new market analysis is correct.

In their 2013 R&D Funding Forecast (PDF), research and development organization Battelle and R&D Magazine propose that U.S. life science companies will bump up their total R&D spending from $181.6 billion in 2012 to $189.3 billion in 2013. Better access to healthcare information, via data analysis, will accelerate and enhance pharmaceutical R&D and adoption of connected health technologies, they say.

In an unexpected move that could have significant implications for Maryland, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski will be named the first female chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.

The Baltimore native and Maryland Democrat, who had been the most senior member of the U.S. Senate without a committee gavel, was suddenly in line to head the influential spending panel following behind-the-scenes maneuvering for chairmanships that played out after the death Monday of its former chairman, Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.

The Democratic caucus is expected to formally approve her chairmanship Thursday.

Two Johns Hopkins researchers and a medical device company are the first recipients of grants from the Maryland Innovation Initiative.

The Innovation Initiative, a program intended to promote commercialization of university research, awarded $300,000 to the three recipients.

Maryland’s second-in-command on economic development matters will step into the top job in January when the current secretary leaves for the private sector, state officials announced Wednesday.

Dominick Murray, who joined the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development six years ago, will succeed Christian S. Johansson as secretary of the agency. Johansson is heading to Baltimore-based Laureate Education, a company that runs universities worldwide, after nearly four years as agency chief.

Both officials were praised by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday for their work on entrepreneurship and efforts to give businesses more of a voice.

Blend Therapeutics, a 1-year-old pre-clinical biotech focused on oncology drugs, has raised $16 million in Series B financing and named the former head of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals as its new CEO.

The $16 million round was led by NanoDimension, and existing investors Flagship Ventures and New Enterprise Associates also took part.

MedImmune, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca, announced that it has signed an in-licensing agreement with Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PGNX) for Progenics’ Clostridium difficile late-stage preclinical program.  The agreement was led by MedImmune’s Infectious Diseases & Vaccines Innovative Medicines (iMed) Unit.

Clostridium difficile infections are the leading cause of hospital-acquired bacterial infections in the U.S. and are associated with more than 20,000 deaths and more than $1 billion in healthcare costs annually. The disease causes severe diarrhea in patients and significantly lengthens the time patients stay in the hospital, leading to poorer outcomes. MedImmune’s program for this property will assess the potential efficacy and safety of treatment of the infection with investigational monoclonal antibodies targeting toxins that mediate the disease.

University of Maryland System’s Diverse Space Offerings Provide Sterilization Technology Company the Ability to Grow Locally

Baltimore, MD, December 18, 2012 – The University of Maryland (UM) BioPark announced today that Noxilizer, Inc., a sterilization technology company, is the latest advancing life sciences company to sign a lease for space within the BioPark. Noxilizer relocates to the UM BioPark from the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park in Baltimore County to accommodate the company’s explansion plans.

Said Jane Shaab, UM Research Park Corporation Senior Vice President, “Noxilizer’s move to the UM BioPark symbolizes the diverse space offerings within the University of Maryland system. This move also adds to our mix of growing technology businesses, research centers, and educational offerings.”

University of Maryland, Baltimore said Monday it reached its $650 million fundraising goal, a record for the school.

The campaign, launched in fiscal 2005, has supported several campus projects, including construction of a new campus center, improvements at the law school, an endowed scholarship for nursing students and nearly twice as many endowed chairs and professorships at the School of Medicine.