| Follow Us:

Medical research and innovation : Innovation + Job News

75 Medical research and innovation Articles | Page: | Show All

University of Maryland Baltimore to Use $45M Gift to Create New Research Center

The University of Maryland Medical School has received a $45 million private gift from the family of a grateful patient.

UMMS will use the multi-million dollar gift to establish the nation's only research enterprise devoted to the study of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and Type-1 diabetes.

The gift, from Indiana couple Ken and Shelia Cafferty, is the largest private donation in the history of the University System of Maryland. The planned research enterprise will be a full-fledged, multidisciplinary academic organization that includes and expands upon two of the school's outstanding research centers, the Mucosal Biology Research Center and the Center for Celiac Research. Alessio Fasano, M.D., a world renowned celiac disease researcher and professor of pediatrics, medicine and physiology at the School of Medicine, will direct the new research enterprise. Dr. Fasano is director of the Mucosal Biology Research Center and the Center for Celiac Research.

"For years, my wife struggled with severe symptoms, with no diagnosis and no treatment for her condition," says Ken Cafferty, a businessman from Carmel, Indiana, who is making the gift with his wife, Shelia, a registered nurse. "I endured this struggle with her, until Dr. Fasano and his staff at the Center for Celiac Research finally found answers for us, diagnosing Shelia with gluten sensitivity. We are making this gift hoping that this new enterprise will help provide answers for other families in the same position, and hopefully make strides toward a cure to provide permanent relief for patients like Shelia."

As is the case with all new research enterprises (institutes or centers), establishment of the research enterprise for autoimmunity research is subject to approval from University of Maryland School of Medicine leadership; a vote will take place in November.

The planned enterprise will have three divisions: one focused on celiac disease, the second on mucosal biology, and a third focused on microbe/host interaction. The third division, the newest of the three, will examine the intersection between the human body and the microbes that inhabit it. Faculty will work closely with faculty at the University of Maryland Institute for Genome Sciences, located in the University of Maryland BioPark in West Baltimore.

"We are assembling a critical mass of multidisciplinary expertise, building the best infrastructure that we can in order to investigate inflammation and autoimmunity from every possible medical and scientific perspective," says Dr. Fasano.

The institute's scientists will use celiac disease as a model for research into autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes. Autoimmune disorders occur when the body is triggered to misdirect its immune response and attack itself. Celiac disease is of particular value for the investigation of autoimmunity and inflammatory disease because it is the only autoimmune disorder for which scientists have identified a trigger � in this case, gluten, a protein found in wheat that is nearly ubiquitous in the contemporary human diet.

Source: University of Maryland Medical Center
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Profectus BioSciences gets $6.25M in grants and contracts from NIAID

Profectus BioSciences, Inc., a technology-based vaccine company devoted to the treatment and prevention of chronic viral diseases, has received $6.25 million in grants and contracts from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), including three Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants from the Division of AIDS, National Institutes of Health totaling $2.9M. These grants are focused on optimizing the Company's portfolio of genetic adjuvants.

Profectus BioSciences seeks to harness the immune system to treat and prevent viral diseases and cancers through the delivery of proprietary prime/boost vaccines.

"Along with IL-12, our portfolio of genetic adjuvants provides us with a toolbox of options to optimize our heterologous prime/boost vaccines. These awards provide significant validation to our scientific approach and accelerate our efforts to develop therapeutic vaccines against HCV, HPV, HSV, and HIV that will have significant clinical impact," says John Eldridge, chief science officer at Profectus BioSciences.

Profectus BioSciences also received $2.75M in continued contract support from the Division of AIDS to develop its recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (rVSV) platform as an HIV vaccine. VSV is a negative-strand, non-segmented RNA virus from the order Mononegavirales that has been redesigned to enable delivery of vaccine immunogens. VSV is a particularly attractive candidate for this purpose because its genome can potentially host more than one foreign gene and it contains its own Profectus BioSciences is utilizing this technology along with its pDNA platforms to develop effective therapeutic vaccines against HCV, HPV, HSV, as well as HIV.

This funding is in addition to the $4.4M in grants announced earlier this week to support the Company's HIV prophylactic vaccine program.

Source: Profectus BioSciences
Writer: Walaika Haskins


Bmore Team Takes Home Philly's Gigabit Genius Grant

Bmore Fiber, a group of business leaders and residents working to bring super high-speed broadband access to Baltimore, has won the $10,000 Gigabit Genius Award, created and funded by Philadelphia's startup and technology communities to encourage gigabit innovation worldwide. A panel of expert judges selected by Philadelphia's Division of Technology were instructed to choose the most promising projects from anywhere in the world.

The winning projects were chosen from among 20 finalists by a panel of expert judges drawn from Philadelphia's technology, civic, academic, and entrepreneurial leadership.

The projects were chosen for their potential to transform lives using ultra high-speed Internet connectivity known as gigabit. Gigabit technology would make the Internet up to 100 times faster than it is today, a difference in speed similar to the transition from dial-up modems to broadband Internet connections.

Bmore Fiber was awarded the bulk of the prize, $7,500, to begin developing teleradiology technology that will enable specialists to transmit and review radiology scans in real-time, making the experience identical whether the specialists are in the next room or the next continent.

"We are going to meet to consider our next steps. This is a big topic. One question is whether the funds should go to enabling the gigabit technology and then seek a path for the teleradiology work, or whether we should start work on the teleradiology project right away. In my mind the two are inextricably linked, so we'll have to see what makes sense," says David Troy, a Baltimore-based entrepreneur and spokesperson for Bmore Fiber.

The team will also start looking for partners from among Baltimore's robust technology and healthcare sectors.

"We have a broad range of volunteers here in the community, but we don't have anyone specifically lined up for the teleradiology project yet. Here in Baltimore, though, it would seem that with Hopkins and UMD medicine so strong here, we should not have trouble finding willing partners," says Troy.

The remainder of the prize, $2,500, was awarded to Israeli entrepreneur Daniel Dobroszklanka for a remote education project that would enable students anywhere in the world to participate in a world-class live classroom experience.

Source: Dave Troy, Bmore Fiber
Writer: Walaika Haskins


Maryland hands out $1.3M to biotech companies, starts process for FY2011 grants

Seven Maryland biotech companies were awarded $1.3 million through the state's Biotechnology Commercialization Awards and the Translational Research Awards. The programs are administered by the Maryland Biotechnology Center, part of the Marylarnd Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED).
 
"Biotechnology continues to be a key driver of Maryland's economy," says Governor O'Malley. "The high quality of the biotechnology projects supported by these awards, as well as their link to a number of Maryland institutions of higher learning, demonstrates Maryland's significant potential to commercialize our unparalleled academic research."

"These funds provide critical support to companies bringing innovative technologies to market and play an important role in the Center's mission to support commercialization," says Dr. Judith Britz, Executive Director of the Maryland Biotechnology Center. "The Center is proud to fund these grants, which last year drew applications from more than 30 biotechnology companies and academic institutions."

The Biotechnology Commercialization Awards were made to three biotechnology companies to assist them in commercializing a product or service. College Park-based Zymetis, received a $200,000 grant to advance their work in converting whey to fuel; Fyodor, based in Baltimore's BioPark, received $200,000 for the commercialization of their flagship product, the Urine Malaria Test; and InfraTrac, located at the Silver Spring Innovation Center, received $100,000 to grow their counterfeit drug monitoring product.

"MBC's grant program is brilliant because it places critical resources into companies like ours at just the right time," says Scott Laughlin, CEO of Zymetis. "Right now, everyone is looking for companies that have made the leap from development to commercialization. These funds will help us achieve this milestone."

The Translational Research Awards, which are given to help commercialize basic science research and encourage bio companies to collaborate with academic institutions, were presented to Baltimore-based Gliknik Inc., in partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore and Dr. James S. Gammie of the University of Maryland Medical Center. Each has received a $200,000 award.

Gliknik will use its award to support development of a drug that aids in organ transplants, with a significant portion of the funding going to transplant researchers at the University of Maryland. Dr. Gammie will use the funding to develop surgical tools that will assist in repairing the heart's mitral valve through a minimally invasive procedure.

The Shared Resource Grants, totaling $400,000, were awarded to two University of Maryland programs that provide specialized services to local bio companies. The Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH) Biotechnology Research and Education program received $200,000 to expand its operations into a new facility at Shady Grove.

A second $200,000 grant was awarded to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for the purchase of new equipment, specifically a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer.

Applications are now being taken for grants available  in Fiscal Year 2011 through the Maryland Biotechnology Center to assist in commercializing promising research, encouraging bio companies to collaborate with academic institutions and expanding biotechnology resources. The Governor also announced that seven Maryland bio companies and universities received $1.3 million in FY 2010 grants, which was the first year of funding.

Applications for the Biotechnology Commercialization Awards and the Translational Research Awards must be submitted by Sept. 15 to the Maryland Biotechnology Center. These grants complement funding available through TEDCO's Maryland Technology Transfer and Commercialization Fund, the University of Maryland's Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program and DBED's Maryland Venture Fund programs.


Source: Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
Writer: Walaika Haskins

University of MD partnership with UMBC, UMB nabs $7.9M from NIH for superconducting research magnet

The University of Maryland, in partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), has received a $7.9 million federal grant to acquire a superconducting 950 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) magnet that will help researchers unravel the mysteries of molecules and develop new agents to treat cancer, AIDS and other diseases.

The grant is among the largest of its kind ever awarded by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), part of the National Institutes of Health. The funds were made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The NMR is scheduled to be installed in November, 2011 at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. It will be shared equally among the three campuses and used by researchers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Only one other site in the United States currently has a 950 MHz NMR spectrometer, and the University of Maryland partnership will be the only academic institutions in the country to have this powerful technology.

David Fushman, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Maryland, is a co-director of the grant, and will lead the College Park team that includes several biochemists and cell biologists whose research will be enhanced by the new NMR spectrometer.

David J. Weber, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of the NMR core facility there, and AIDS researcher Michael F. Summers, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UMBC, are co-directors with Professor Fushman.

The eight-ton magnet produces a supercharged magnetic field that enables scientists to investigate the three-dimensional structure of biological molecules and study their interaction with the highest degree of resolution.

"This 950 Mhz NMR is optimal for studying large molecules," explains Fushman, an expert in protein structure and dynamics who is associated with the university's Center for Biomolecular Structure and Organization (CBSO). "This will allow us to move into studying larger protein complexes that include more than 1000 amino acids. We can begin to decipher interactions between proteins that we could not easily do before."

The 950 MHz NMR spectrometer will enable University of Maryland researchers to delve deeper into the molecular mechanisms of proteins and nucleic acids in the body and to provide the much needed fundamental information from which drug therapies and other medical treatments can be based. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine will utilize the technology in many areas of cancer research, including drug development, while UMBC researchers will focus on AIDS research.

Source: University of Maryland, Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins


Hopkins teams with GBMC, Arundel Medical Health System to form research network

The Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR), in collaboration with Anne Arundel Health System (AAHS) and the Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC), has established a new network of academic and community-based clinical researchers, the Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Network (JHCRN). The JHCRN, which will provide new opportunities for research collaborations, is designed to accelerate the transfer of new diagnostic, treatment, and disease-prevention advances from the research arena to patient care.

The JHCRN creates a bridge for research between Hopkins and community-based medical centers by linking physician-scientists and staff from the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions with community-based medical centers in the region. The network, which will ultimately have additional member institutions, will serve several purposes, the most important of which is to make clinical trials available to patients who may not ordinarily have access to them.

"This strategy started four years ago when the newly ICTR wanted to expand its capacity for doing research and to take advantage of the potential collaboration of physicians both at GBMC and Anne Arundel who wanted to collaborate with us to do joint trials, but we didn't have a mechanism for at that time," says Dr. Charles Balch, Deputy Director for Clinical Trials and Outcomes Research, JH Institute for Clinical and Translational Research Director, Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Network.

"What's unique about it is that it's intended to facilitate collaborations of physicians in any specialty, although we've started initially in cancer because that's the most mature area of clinical trials in many facilities. We're moving quickly into other areas such as diabetes, heart disease, vascular disease and so forth," he continues.

The JHCRN directly addresses the many complexities of conducting multisite and multi-institutional trials by providing investigators with a larger patient pool and a seamless platform that uses common research protocols. The goal of the network is to speed the approval of new trials while ensuring careful oversight of patient safety. Rapid start-up and timely completion of research studies, aided by widespread access to the clinical trials, will make promising therapies available for patient use more quickly.

The network was established through an initial agreement with charter affiliate AAHS in early 2009. This early collaboration was instrumental in clearing many of the organizational and legal barriers to shared research, a process that continues with the inclusion of newer affiliate GBMC. The initial focus of the JHCRN will be on expanding cancer-related clinical trials (including medical, surgical, and radiation therapy aspects of cancer treatment) and diabetes and surgical studies. Future collaborations will include a wide range of research areas, including intensive care; cardiovascular, neuropsychiatric, brain, and spine diseases; and radiology and nuclear medicine studies.

The JHCRN is a program of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR), which is a part of a national consortium aimed at transforming how clinical and translational research is conducted at academic health centers around the country.

Network researchers from participating hospitals will use a centralized data system to coordinate information from diverse information technology and electronic medical records sources. Clinical research methodologies, data management, research reporting documentation, patient consent forms, and quality- and safety-control criteria will be standardized. With this uniformity, network hospitals can better develop and coordinate their own clinical research activities or joint clinical trials with other JHCRN institutions.

Source: Dr. Charles Balch, Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research
Writer: Walaika Haskins


Juxtopia partners with Johns Hopkins on Wearable Augmented Reality Surgical Navigation System

Juxtopia, a Baltimore-based biomedical and information technology company focused on improving human performance mainly in the areas of learning and health, has teamed with Johns Hopkins Hospital to create a surgical navigation system based on Juxtopia's innovative goggle technology.

"When a surgeon like Ben Carson is working on a brain, they often have to look up at monitors displaying the CAT scans and monitors that track how the patient is doing. There is an occupational hazard though with these long surgeries that require physician's to repeatedly look up and then try to map a screen that he sees at a distance to make precise cuts iwith a scalpel n the brain of the patient. With a lot of practice you can get good at, but still mistakes can be made," explains Jayfus Doswell, Juxtopia's CEO.

"It's not the easiest thing to do. It's almost like driving a car in reverse when you don't have rear view mirrors. You can look behind you and hope you don't hit anything, but why not just get a rearview mirror," he continues.

Funded by a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant, the collaboration will assist in the development of a Wearable Intelligent Navigation System for Surgery (WINSS). The WINSS software will be developed as a Wearable Augmented Reality-based Surgical Navigation System for distribution through the Juxtopia Wearable Augmented Reality Goggles.

The WINSS technology would display all the information a surgeon needs on the lenses of the goggles.The voice activated/deactivated goggles, will enable surgeons to navigate various medical images that assist surgical procedures while keeping their hands and eyes focused on the patient.

"Everything runs through our headset so we'll create the alogrithms and software, and make the interface," says Doswell.

The project is slated to begin in September.


Source: Jayfus Doswell, Juxtopia
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Encore Path, Millennial Media bring home top honors from the American Business Awards

Two Maryland companies received national honors last week from  at the 2010 American Business Awards. Millennial Media, the largest independent mobile advertising platform, announce was awarded a Stevie for "Most Innovative Company-- Breaking Ground for Mobile Advertising" in 2010, while Encore Path, a Baltimore company that makes devices for recovery from stroke and brain injury, received the award for "Best New Product or Service of the Year" for its Tailwind rehabilitation device.

Stevie Awards were presented in over 40 categories including Best Overall Company of the Year, Executive of the Year, and Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year. More than 2,700 entries from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration.

More than 200 executives across the country participated in the judging process to determine the Finalists and Stevie Award winners.

"2010 has been an explosive year of growth for our company and we are grateful to the American Business Awards for this national recognition of our achievements in mobile innovation," says Mack McKelvey, senior vice president of marketing, Millennial Media. "We have made it our mission to significantly increase advertisers' awareness on the effectiveness of mobile, and to remain on the forefront of mobile creative, technology and business innovation." 

Bringing home the Stevie award is akin to winning  an Oscars for the business world. Encore Path, an emerging life sciences company, competed along with long-time leaders of American industry. Encore Path beat out other finalists for "New Product or Service of the Year" including products such as an external defibrillator and services such as a LEED certification training program. 

"Encore Path is proud to be improving the quality of life for stroke and brain injury survivors around the world, and we are proud to be recognized for this by the American Business Awards," said Kris Appel, president EncorePath, in accepting the award.

"To be in the company of winners such as Ford, Apple, and Oracle is a tremendous honor, and an acknowledgement of the hard work of the people who have supported Encore Path and helped bring this important product to the market."

Source: Millennial Media, Encore Path
Writer: Walaika Haskins


University of Maryland Medical School nabs $12.3M from NIH to renovate its labs

TheUniversity of Maryland School of Medicine has received $12.3 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants to renovate research laboratories of the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center and to build core facilities � centralized areas of technology and expertise � that will provide key support services to cancer researchers. The funds are part of $1 billion in funding made available by the federal government through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for construction or renovation of research facilities.

The NIH's National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) has awarded a $5 million C06 construction grant to renovate laboratories on the eighth floor of the School of Medicine's Bressler Research Building at 655 W. Baltimore St. Another $7.3 million G20 Core Renovation, Repair and Improvement grant will be used to consolidate existing core laboratories and build new facilities on the sixth and seventh floors of the Bressler Building.

These new core laboratories will provide "shared services" to cancer researchers and other scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and other professional schools at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Many of these support services benefit the cancer center, which is part of the School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center.

"These NCRR grants will enable us to build new, modern laboratory facilities for our researchers that hopefully will pave the way for major breakthroughs in cancer research. We are continually expanding our research program, and constructing state-of-the-art laboratories is critical to that effort," says Kevin J. Cullen, M.D., director of the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center and professor of medicine and director of the Program in Oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

"Our cancer center has been recognized by the National Cancer Institute for its scientific excellence, and our faculty members conduct some of the most innovative and promising cancer research in the nation. These new laboratories will not only facilitate this work but also will help us to recruit more top-tier scientists to our cancer center," says E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., acting president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

The newly renovated space will be used by individual molecular and structural biology researchers and will also house core labs for confocal microscopy, proteomics, flow cytometry, tissue-culturing and tissue-related services such as histology and immunohistochemistry, as well as the Genomics Core Facility, which provides cutting-edge genomic support for researchers.

The renovation on the eighth floor of the Bressler Building is scheduled to begin in November and will be completed in August 2011. The construction on the sixth and seven floors will begin upon completion of the eighth floor renovations and be finished by August 2012.


Source: University of Maryland Medical School
Writer: Walaika Haskins


Maryland Biotechnology Center hands out $270K in intial funding

The Maryland Biotechnology Center, the State of Maryland's portal to programs and resources intended to grow and strengthen the state's bioscience community, has awarded $270,000 through the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program to six biotechnology companies to their product development projects .

MIPS teams Maryland companies with faculty from the University System of Maryland to help the companies develop high technology, biotechnology, or technology-related agricultural products. Companies provide matching funds to help pay for the projects. All funding goes to participating faculty.

The Center recently signed off on initial funding for three projects. Each was in the second year of a two-year (phase 2) project. Three additional first-year projects were also made possible by freeing up MIPS funds to support them.

"As Maryland's resource center for growing and strengthening the state's bioscience community, one of the Maryland Biotechnology Center's charters outlined by Governor Martin O'Malley in his 2009 BioMaryland 2020 strategic plan is to provide funding to assist companies with late-stage commercialization objectives," says Judy Britz, the Center's executive director. "MIPS has a proven process for evaluating viable research projects and a strong history of successfully helping biotechnology companies develop commercial products, so by supporting MIPS, we are fulfilling part of our charter and are boosting key contributors to the growth of the state's bioscience cluster."

The phase 2 projects that the Center will directly support include Rockville-based Aparna Biosciences Corporation that has teamed with A. James Mixson, associate professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore to develop therapeutics to treat a variety of fungal infections; Encore Path Inc., based in Baltimore has, and Appa Anjanappa, professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, who are developing a new rehabilitative TREADTRAC Device to enable stroke patients to regain walking skills; and another Rockville-based company, VectorLogics Inc. and Vikram Vakharia, professor, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, who are working on a treatment for the hepatitis C virus that uses viral vectors to deliver therapeutic proteins.

MIPS was able to support three additional projects thanks to the Center funding, including, Rockville-based Celek Pharmaceuticals LLC and Susan Keay, professor, University of Baltimore, to evaluate the efficacy of a novel therapeutic for interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome, a chronic and debilitating bladder disorder; Cellphire Inc., also in Rockville that has teamed with the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute MDBioproSM (GMP Biomanufacturing Program) to establish a quality system and manufacturing processes for the current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) production of the company's freeze-dried platelet products for both diagnostic and therapeutic indications; and College Park's Zymetis Inc. that is working with Robert M. Briber, professor, University of Maryland, College Park, in the development of low-cost solvent systems to reduce the crystallinity of native cellulose, reducing the need for enzymes in biomass digestion for the production of ethanol and other biofuels.


"MIPS has helped three of the most successful biotechnology companies in Maryland�MedImmune [part of AstraZeneca], Martek Biosciences, and Digene Corporation [now part of Qiagen]�develop products," says MIPS director Martha Connolly. "These companies have generated thousands of jobs, brought in millions in revenue and contributed tax dollars to the economy. The Maryland Biotechnology Center funding allows us to bolster what could be the leading biotechnology companies of tomorrow."

The Maryland Biotechnology Center contract with MIPS is for one year.

Source: The Maryland Biotechnology Center
Writer: Walaika Haskins


C-TASC prez nabs the 2010 Innovation in Clinical Research Award


$2.5M from Montgomery County and state will help Zyngenia add six new jobs

Zyngenia Inc., a biotechnology company, has landed $2.5 million from the state of Maryland and Montgomery County. The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development provided a $1 million loan while the county provided a $1.5 million grant to help Zyngenia reach its funding goals.

Founded in 2008, Zyngenia's research focuses on cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company will use the money in the build out of new 14,000 square foot laboratory and office space in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

"The story of Zyngenia is truly one of public-private partnership at its best � significant venture capital funding from NEA, joint investments by the County and State, ideal office and lab space supplied by Scheer Partners and, perhaps most importantly, the teaming of existing scientific and executive expertise found here in Montgomery County � all this combines to fuel Zyngenia's science, growth and continuing success," says County Executive Isiah Leggett.

Zyngenia, a privately held biotherapeutics company headquartered in Montgomery County, was spurred by significant venture capital investments, led by a $10 million Series A investment from NEA in November 2009. The company has a current staff of 14 employees and plans to grow to at least 20 by the end of the year.

The strategic public/private partnership is a component of the County's recently unveiled Bioscience Strategy, which aims to enhance the environment for entrepreneurship and creation of new life science companies in the County by merging increased local venture capital funding with proven biotech entrepreneurs and seasoned industry executives.

Zyngenia uses proprietary technology to enable the development of singular molecular entities that address two or more targets, by combining the activity of two or more biologic therapies into one protein (known as a Zybody™). In addition, the technology will also be applied to drug targets that previously have not been reachable through the use of traditional, single specificity, monoclonal antibodies. The company is focusing its early research and development in creating therapies for patients who have unmet medical needs in cancer and autoimmune diseases.

"Maryland's knowledge economy � one based on science, security, technology and healing � is fueled by innovative companies like Zyngenia," says Gov. Martin O'Malley. "By locating and expanding in Maryland, Zyngenia will have access to our vast community of biopharmaceutical companies, the nation's largest number of federal facilities and increased opportunities to attract venture capital funding."

Zyngenia's expansion and build-out is the latest in a series of other progressive, proactive initiatives by Montgomery County to grow the life sciences industry and bolster the local economy, including

• The new bioscience strategy recommendation of a first-of-its-kind local biotech tax credit to spur investments in biotech companies;

• Leggett's Smart Growth Initiative to create quality, high-paying jobs, and provide sufficient and affordable housing near mass transit by relocating certain County facilities, currently located on prime real estate near mass transit and within the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center, to make way for strategic commercial development; and,

• The forthcoming strategies from the County's Green Economy Task Force to further support and grow this evolving business sector.

Source: Montgomery County
Writer: Walaika Haskins


Need a job? Institute for Genome Sciences is hiring for multiple positions

With some $60 million in federal grant money a year, the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a new international research center in Baltimore's BioPark, has multiple positions available for qualified personnel.

IGS scientists research the genomics of infectious diseases, human microbial metagenomics, and human genomics. Because of expanding research and the growth of genomics, IGS has multiple open positions, particularly in the bioinformatics group, the application of information technology to biological data, using computational and statistic techniques. This enables IGS to sequence samples from which people in the bioinformatics department annotate and analyze the complex genomic data.

The company is looking for motivated and talented individuals to join its informatics and scientific tream. IGS' expanding growth has led to multiple openings for software engineers, analysts, postdoc fellows and researchers.

Successful candidates will benefit from a community of interactive research labs, bioinformatics programmers and analysts along with a variety of sequencing, and computational resources available at this world-class institute.

New public health lab gets the go ahead

The Board of Public Works has approved an agreement between the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), the Department of General Services and the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) to begin planning a new state-of-the-art public health laboratory to replace the antiquated and crowded facilities at the State Office Complex on West Preston Street. The new facility -- to be built by September 2013 -- will be located at the East Baltimore redevelopment project known as the Science and Technology Park at Johns Hopkins.

The Board -- comprised of the Governor, State Comptroller Peter Franchot, and State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp -- approved the $6.45 million expenditure to begin the design phase of the new laboratory, which will help the state respond more rapidly to such public health events as newly emerging epidemics, foodborne outbreaks and incidents of bioterrorism. The laboratory is expected to have a price tag of $180 million, which will be funded by Lease Revenue Bonds issued by MEDCO and backed by the DHMH lease.

"The new public health lab will advance our goal of providing Maryland families the best public health service and protection that modern science and technology can offer," says Gov. O'Malley. "This state-of-the-art facility maximizes our abilities to protect the health and well-being of all Marylanders under a creative financing agreement that minimizes the cost to taxpayers."

As a member of the national Laboratory Response Network, the State laboratory acts as an early warning system for public health threats and shares this information with other state and federal agencies so that threats such as the drug resistance to H1N1 influenza can be identified, tracked, and quickly contained.

"As the H1N1 (Swine) flu experience clearly demonstrated, the public health laboratory is the backbone of Maryland's public health system," says John M. Colmers, DHMH Secretary. "The investment we are making today will provide Maryland families with decades of protection against disease and illness."

The structure will be a significantly more efficient building than the old facility that opened in 1974. The new laboratory will provide a 29 percent increase in useable space over the current facility, growing from 100,000 net assignable square feet to 129,000 net assignable square feet, while decreasing the actual gross square footage from the current 227,000 to an estimated 200,000 gross square feet. It will have 41 high-level biosafety laboratories, an infrastructure to support sophisticated instruments and equipment, and more sophisticated levels of security.

The new facility will be financed through the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO), an instrumentality of the State created by the General Assembly to assist private and government agencies in expanding and modernizing existing enterprises in Maryland. Forest City-New East Baltimore Partnership, a nationally recognized developer of laboratory facilities and chosen by East Baltimore Development, Inc. as the developer for the Science and Technology Park at Johns Hopkins, will be the developer for the new public health laboratory.

Source: Board of Public Works
Writer: Walaika Haskins


University of MD, Baltimore recieves $30M to lead stem cell consortium

The University of Maryland School of Medicine  has received a $30 million grant to create a center that will coordinate the research of national experts in stem cell research. The university's Michael L. Terrin, MD, CM MPH, professor of epidemiology and preventive medicine was pegged by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to lead the coordinating center, dubbed the NHLBI Profenitor Cell Biology Consortium, for a consortium of our nation's most prominent scientists in the field of stem cell research.

"This consortium was developed to bring together the best and brightest researchers from around the country, in the new and rapidly advancing field of stem and progenitor cell biology. They come from several specialties -- cardiology, hematology and pulmonary medicine. All are doing cutting edge research in this exciting new field," says Terrin.

Stem cells are uncommitted cells that can change into many types of mature functional cells and can divide indefinitely. Once stem cells start to commit to a cell type, they create progenitor cells. They are partially committed in terms of the types of cells they can become and how many times they can divide.

One major goal of this research consortium is to use these stem and progenitor cells as regenerative therapy to replace damaged tissues and organs.

The researchers will share their strategies and techniques to identify and characterize how these cells differentiate. Together they will address the challenges of discovering new potential therapies.

The NHLBI believes that by sharing information and working together across traditional boundaries, consortium members will advance the field of stem cell and progenitor cell biology at a faster pace and realize the potential for new clinical therapies that much sooner.

Terrin and his on campus colleagues  will organize the collaborative efforts of the nine different research hubs in the Consortium, dividing the responsibilities of the Administrative Coordinating Center into three areas: general administration; computer systems; and biological information science.

"Our team of nationally known experts, and the facilities at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, made our proposal to coordinate this consortium unique," Terrin says. "The resources here are wonderful. I know of no other university or medical school that I would rather have behind my efforts on behalf of this important project."

The research coordination team led by Terrin is composed of individuals who will assure that the information put in the system, as well as records of samples and tissues put into registries (both physical and virtual), will be maintained. They will also ensure that important information from sources outside the Consortium is continually updated.

In addition, Terrin's team will coordinate conference calls, meetings and funding for their research projects and help the investigators publicize their results of their research.

Source: University of Maryland, Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

75 Medical research and innovation Articles | Page: | Show All
Share this page
0
Email
Print
Signup for Email Alerts