News Archive

Sources inform “Globes” that AstraZeneca plc (NYSE; LSE; OMX: AZN) has teamed with Israeli real estate company Minrav Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MNRV) to bid in the Office of the Chief Scientist’s biotechnology incubator tender. AstraZeneca will handle the consortium’s professional side, and Minrav will be responsible for financing.

The AstraZeneca-Minrav consortium is bidding against a consortium of OrbiMed Israel and the venture capital arms of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. (TSE: 4502).

New Enterprise Associates has increased its focus on companies developing drugs for rare disease, an effort that’s paying off. Portfolio company Prosensa Holding BV, which it backed last year, has just gone public on Nasdaq. The company develops therapies for rare conditions such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy and Huntington’s disease. 

Johns Hopkins Montgomery County has received the 2013 Visionary Award from the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.

Before an audience of hundreds at the Chamber’s Annual Awards Dinner, Campus Executive Elaine Amir thanked the Chamber for the recognition, thanked Montgomery County for having the foresight to establish the campus in 1985 and applauded County Executive Ike Leggett for his encouragement and support.

Governor Martin O’Malley announced today that the State, through the BioMaryland Center, has awarded nearly $1 million to five innovative life sciences companies through its Biotechnology Development Awards program. The companies, which received up to $200,000 each, will use the funding to advance the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, create a less-invasive treatment for tachycardia patients, enhance animal analgesics, control traumatic bleeds and develop high-quality gluten and allergen-free kosher food products.

“These companies are developing products that are changing the way we feed, fuel and heal our planet and have the potential to impact millions of patients around the world,” said Governor O’Malley. “These awards are critical to ensuring that the life-saving research being done here in Maryland has the opportunity to move to the commercial marketplace.”

UMBC recently earned accolades in three college ranking reports.

The Online College Database recognized the high salaries of UMBC graduates in its list of most affordable colleges.  The website used data from the ”2012-2013 PayScale College Salary Report” to rank UMBC as having the second-highest post-graduation starting salary of colleges in Maryland with annual tuition under $20,000.  According to the report, the average starting salary of a UMBC graduate is $50,300.

Sources inform “Globes” that AstraZeneca plc (NYSE; LSE; OMX: AZN) has teamed with Israeli real estate company Minrav Holdings Ltd. (tase:MNRV) to bid in the Office of the Chief Scientist’s biotechnology incubator tender. AstraZeneca will handle the consortium’s professional side, and Minrav will be responsible for financing.

The AstraZeneca-Minrav consortium is bidding against a consortium of OrbiMed Israel and the venture capital arms of Johnson & Johnson JNJ and Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.

Taking the helm of EFPIA, Viehbacher says R&D and innovation are the keys to rescuing Europe from its economic slump, but more harmonization across the pharmaceutical sector will be needed too.

The venture capital industry is getting rightsized, with less capital raised and deployed, smaller funds, fewer active venture capital firms, and more regulation. The exit climate has picked up, but is still not at the level required. And valuations are overall more rational, with some exceptions at the later stages or in consumer-facing momentum companies.

However, with the confluence of not one but four big market drivers (discussed below), and the rise of a new technology cycle,  we think this is still a great time to be a venture capitalist or entrepreneur.