biotechnology : Innovation + Job News

Robert Hienz, a Johns Hopkins medical researcher, is studying the effects of radiation on the brain of astronauts on future deep-space exploration missions, thanks to a $400,000 grant from NASA’s Human Research Program and its National Space Biomedical Research Institute.
 
Hienz, associate professor of behavioral biology, Johns Hopkins Medical School, and senior scientist for the Institutes for Behavior Resources, is continuing research he began in 2009 with previous grants from these NASA agencies.
 
Hienz says that NASA has identified three problems for humans on long-term space missions: bone and muscle deterioration, eyesight and radiation effects. A fourth potential problem is psycho-social, for astronauts who will be confined together in a small vehicle for several years in a row.
 
NASA requested proposals to study astronauts’ health and performance on long-term space flights. Of the 104 proposals received, it chose 29, for a total of $26 billion over a one- to three-year period.
 
Hienz’s proposal is to detect and prevent neurobehavioral vulnerability to space radiation.

The International Space Station is within the earth’s magnetic field, which deflects radiation, so it is not an issue for its occupants. However, once astronauts move beyond the station -- to the moon or Mars, for example -- they will be subject to radiation from the sun and interstellar space, even inside a spacecraft.
 
Says Hienz, “The astronauts will be exposed to naturally-occurring radiation and the longer out they are, the more they will be exposed. The longer they are exposed, the more likely they are to develop problems.”
 
Exposure to radiation is thought to increase the incidence of cancer and to accelerate the natural aging process. He says that NASA is currently engaged in a study of former astronauts to determine if they develop cancer in their later years but the results so far are inconclusive.
 
A round-trip flight to Mars would take about three years, including a short stay on the surface. With the possibility of a Mars mission in 2030, as Hienz has heard, it is expected that NASA will use more frequent trips to the moon, with longer stays on its surface, as a preliminary for a Mars flight.
 
Hienz says that other scientists are studying the effects of radiation on other parts of the body. A complication is that there are different kinds of radiation, from high-energy solar flares to the particles of interstellar space.
 
Hienz has reached a few preliminary conclusions. One is that exposure to radiation does appear to affect performance. The other, and more tentative, is that physical changes detected in the brain because of radiation may provide biological markers that can be determined ahead of time.
 
Such markers may be used to determine the radiation sensitivity of future astronauts for prevention and treatment purposes, according to Hienz. 
 
Source: Robert Hienz, PhD, Johns Hopkins Medical School
Writer: Barbara Pash

The Rare Genomics Institute says it has discovered a new gene variant in a four-year-old patient that may indicate a brand new disease.

RGI is an affiliate of the Baltimore City Emerging Technology Center incubator and a nonprofit devoted to helping patients with rare genetic diseases. It uses crowdfunding to finance genomic sequencing pilot projects and is run by 23 volunteers.
 
Researchers at a medical institution made the discovery in partnership with RGI, President Dr. Jimmy Lin says.  It marks the first time that a patient-initiated, crowdfunded genome initiative project has uncovered the genetic basis of a rare disease, he says. 

In this case, the child had undergone multiple operations and suffered from developmental delays. Despite visiting numeorus physicians, her condition had remained unexplained until genomic sequencing identified a gene active in fetal development and early childhood as the culprit.

"By looking at the sequence and comparing it with public databases, we were able to find the genetic change in her genome that was not present in either of her parents," Lin says.

He says that while there is no "cure"  for her rare disease, the discovery will help the child's physicians better understand her condition and someday may point to better treatment for her and other children like her.
 
Lin founded RGI last year while still a MD/PhD student at Johns Hopkins University. Now a professor at the Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, Lin says RGI will remain in Baltimore.
 
Lin says RGI was created to help patients with rare diseases through genomic sequencing, which enables researchers to identify genetic defects that might not show up in standard medical testing.
 
“We help patients with diseases that are so rare that no organization is helping them, no funding is available to them and no research is being done,” Lin says of diseases that, because of these factors, are often not named..
 
There are about 7,000 rare diseases, legally defined as affecting from 200,000 people to one person. According to RGI, 80 percent of rare diseases have indentifiable genetic origins; 75 percent or rare diseases affect children; 30 percent of rare disease patients die before the age of 5.   
 
RGI has 18 medical institution partners, including Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland Medical System, which have agreed to do genomic sequencing.
 
RGI raises the money through a funding model called crowdfunding, in which projects are chosen, highlighted on a website and donations can be made directly to the project via the web site.
 
Since founding, RGI has highlighted 20 projects and raised more than $50,000. In the project involving the four-year-old child, it raised $3,500 over six hours to pay for her genome sequencing,
 
As far as Lin knows, RGI is the only nonprofit undertaking this effort. “There are companies that do sequencing and there are companies that do crowdfunding but we are the only ones who’ve connected all the dots,” he says.
 
Source: Dr. Jimmy Lin, Rare Genomics Institute
Writer: Barbara Pash

Baltimore biotech company PathSensors Inc. is hiring a dozen employees in the next 18 months as the company rolls out a new product.

The 12-person company wants to hire new staff who have a biology background and are familiar with lab practices, PathSensors President Ted Olsen says. He says he is also looking for personnel in quality assurance and shipping.

Last year, the company received $200,000 from the Maryland Biotechnology Center to develop a new product that detects harmful bacteria in food products. The environmental and food testing company is working on a product to detect Campylocacter, a genus of bacteria that can cause intestinal infections in humans. It has already developed a product that can detect and test for Salmonella.

Olsen says the company’s agri-food division will expand its products to the food processing industry, with more tests to identify contamination in pork and beef products, for example. The company’s biosecurity division offers products that detect biological threats such as mail screening for Anthrax. “Major high-profile government buildings use our products on a daily basis,” he says.

“In our market segments of food processing, there is a high level of interest in our technology,” Olsen says. He expects the Campylocactor test to be developed this year and available in 2013.
 
Campylocacter is most commonly found in poultry and beef products. Salmonella, another type of bacteria, can cause food poisoning in humans and also is found in poultry products.
 
PathSensors was founded two years ago as an offshoot of Innovative Biosensors, a Rockville company whose focus is clinical diagnostics. Olsen moved PathSensors to the University of Maryland BioPark in Baltimore because of the availability of office and laboratory space and qualified employees who are trained at Baltimore City Community College and the BioTechnical Institute of Maryland.
 
The company’s products are sold to systems that do the collecting and testing, and the products can deliver results in minutes, versus hours for competitors' tests, says Olsen.
 
In its three years, the Maryland Biotechnology Center has awarded $4.5 million to Maryland biotech companies. For the 2012 awards, 90 companies applied; seven, including PathSensors, were chosen.
 
Source: Ted Olsen, PathSensors, Inc.
Writer: Barbara Pash

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore is investigating the effects of spaceflight on astronauts, thanks to a $1 million grant from the National Space Biomedical Research Institute and NASA’s Human Research Program. Sinai Hospital received one of 29 grants awarded for a three-year study of astronaut health and performance on future deep space exploration missions.
 
The major emphasis of the grants is to address the recently identified issue of visual impairment of astronauts during and after space exploration, according to a NASA statement.
 
Dr. Michael A. Williams, medical director of The Sandra and Malcolm Brain & Spine Institute, will lead the investigation at Sinai Hospital, part of LifeBridge Health, a provider of health services in northwest Baltimore.
 
"We are one of eight centers working on intercranial pressure and visual impairment. The others are academic centers," Williams says. Williams will collaborate with Dr. Aaron Dentinger of General Electric Co., and Dr. Gary Strangman of Harvard Medical School-Massachusetts General Hospital on the research team looking at smart medical systems and technology.
 
In his research, Williams will gauge the accuracy of two non-invasive methods of measuring spinal fluid pressure. Neither is currently considered accurate enough to make diagnostic and therapeutic decisions for astronauts in spaceflight.
 
Beyond its value for spaceflight, Williams says the research applies to civilian life. "The NASA research builds on a program in which we routinely use invasive testing to monitor spinal fluid. For our hospital and patients, if we can demonstrate the validity of non-invasive clinical routine, it will be a boon to the patients who see us." 
 
Says Williams, "I never imagined that in my career I have would have a role with NASA. It is a great honor."

Source: Dr. Michael A. Williams, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
Writer: Barbara Pash

Baltimore biomedical company Juxtopia expects to receive $2.6 million in federal grants by the end of the year and plans to use that money toward improving its flagship product, high-tech goggles.

Federal agencies the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense will award the grants. It has received $330,000 in federal grants, and expects to receive another $2.35 million before year's end. 

Jayfus Doswell, Juxtopia's CEO and Founder, says the money is going toward improving the software and hardware of its goggles, which have a variety of applications. Doswell envisions that they can be used by combat medics assisting a fallen soldier or by doctors performing surgery. 
 
Johns Hopkins Medicine’s department of surgery is using the goggles in pre-clinical trials to determine their medical applications, says Doswell.
 
Doswell listed the grants as:
* From the National Science Foundation, $230,000 in 2012 and another $2 million for a three-year period expected within the next six months;
* From the Department of Defense, $100,000 in 2011 and another $100,000 expected in 2012; and
* From the National Institutes of Health, two grants totaling $250,000 expected in 2012.
 
Juxtopia was founded a decade ago as a biomedical technology company, spun out of Morgan State University. In 2010, it graduated from the ETC Emerging Technology Center @ Johns Hopkins Eastern.
 
It returned to the incubator this year under a special program in which it will strive to increase the number of minority-owned tech companies in Baltimore. Called the Juxtopia Urban Innovation and Cooperative Entrepreneurship, Doswell says there are currently three companies in the program.  
 
“We try to guide minority-owned companies through the process,” Doswell says.
 
This summer, Juxtopia is offering five paid internships, thanks to a National Science Foundation grant, for high school and college students. The internships, in different engineering fields, are still open.
 
With a staff of 10 engineers and four mangers, Doswell says Juxtopia is “always looking” for new employees.
 
Source: Jayson Doswell, Juxtopia
Writer: Barbara Pash

The state and five universities are spending upwards of $5.8 million to help startups move from a concept to a company.  

Senate Bill 239/House Bill 442 establishes the Maryland Innovation Initiative Fund under the aegis of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, or TEDCO. The bill passed the Maryland House and Senate and awaits the signature of Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is expected to sign it. 

“Maryland has premiere research universities but it ranks low on technology transfer,” Brian Levine, vice president, government relations, Tech Council of Maryland, says of the fund, which is intended to remedy that situation.
 
To participate in the fund, five universities are contributing to it. Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland College Park and University of Maryland, Baltimore will each contribute at least $200,000 per year. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Morgan State University will contribute at least $100,000 per year. The state has allocated $5 million to the fund, which will begin operating July 1.
 
Calling the fund “a great benefit for the state,” Rob Rosenbaum, TEDCO’s president and executive director, says. “We have so much research but commercialization is needed. We have to stimulate that activity.”

TEDCO is establishing an office to administer the fund. The fund helps technology concepts reach the startup phase by providing marketing and supporting the the technology transfer offices that already exist at the participating universities.
 
Rosenbaum says the fund intends to work with 40 projects per year that will result in 12 to 15 new companies. Startup companies initially generate 2.5 jobs on average, with salaries the first year of more than $75,000 per job.
 
Rosenbaum says that “all policies of the fund have not yet been defined” but the hope is that the startups it helps stay in Maryland.
 
Ronald Wineholt, vice president of government affairs of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, says the legislation provides better coordination of the universities’ transfer efforts. “Now that it’s under TEDCO, it’s a state-wide effort rather than an individual university,” he says.
 
Sources: Brian Levine, Tech Council of Maryland; Rob Rosenbaum, Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO); Ronald Wineholt, Maryland Chamber of Commerce
Writer: Barbara Pash

Newly passed legislation allows the state to review tax credits for individuals and businesses and to evaluate whether the credits are benefiting the state. 

The legislation eliminated a provision to "sunset", or automatically terminate, tax credits after businesses initially opposed the bill.

Tax credits have become a powerful tool in attracting businesses in film, biotech and other industries. Though the tax revenue lost from the credits are small, the number of business tax credits have increased, according to a legislative report on Senate Bill 739/House Bill 764. There are now a total of 30 different tax credits in Maryland, the report states.

The 2012 General Assembly passed the Maryland Program Evaluation Act. Gov. Martin O'Malley has not yet signed the legislation but is expected to do so. The business community opposed one of its provisions, to automatically end tax credits for about 20 to 30 entities on a rolling, five-year basis. The provision was deleted from the final bill.

"Not only would the provision have killed the tax credit, but in order to get the tax credit restored, the General Assembly would have had to act legislatively," says Brian Levine, vice president government relations, Technology Council of Maryland Inc. "The portion [of the bill] that impacted business negatively was removed."

About 70 entities and business-related activities are subject to periodic evaluation for tax credits. Originally opposed by the business community, the Maryland Program Evaluation Act went through several changes before getting the business community’s approval.  

The provision for automatic termination was removed from the bill, which, instead, sets up a process and an evaluation committee of members appointed by leaders of the Senate and House of Delegates that works in consultation with state agencies.
 
The committee must submit reports to the General Assembly if the tax credit should be continued, with or without changes, or terminated. Public hearings are also required. The onus is on the committee to show why the tax credit should be removed, says Levine, rather than having it happen automatically.

Levine says that legislators “worked with the business community to craft a compromise. We are pleased with the outcome. In the end, we did not oppose the bill.”
 
Levine says the Tech Council and the business community opposed the automatic termination provision.

For example, he says, the state has an $8 million biotechnology tax credit to help early-stage companies. In the original statue, the biotech tax credit does not have a termination date. Had the provision remained in the bill, it would have meant that "every five years, this tax credit would be terminated automatically and could only be revived through legislative action,” says Levine. “We felt that was untenable.”
 
Ronald Wineholt, vice president government relations for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, calls the tax credits “one of the most important economic development” tools.

But, he says of the original bill, “We were concerned that automatic termination of tax credits could limit the usefulness of businesses that were considering coming to Maryland.”
 
 
Sources: Brian Levine, Tech Council of Maryland; Ronald Wineholt, Maryland Chamber of Commerce
Writer: Barbara Pash
 
 
 
 

Mentoring, for a start. Perhaps an awards program. The mission of the new Women in Tech group is to support women in technology fields but the details of how that will be done are still being decided.
 
That discussion will take place at the initial meeting of the Women in Tech group, sponsored by the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council, an Annapolis-based membership group. The meeting will be held Wed. April 25 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the headquarters of IntelliGenesis, in Columbia.
 
IntelliGenesis is a defense contractor whose president and CEO, Angie Lienert, a Chesapeake Regional Tech Council board member, is spearheading the new group.
 
Technology is a predominantly male field. There are a lot of women but they’re surrounded by men, says Kris Valerio, executive director of the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council.
 
“We want to nurture the women. We want to have female mentors, and we want to inspire young women to pursue technology as a career,” Valerio says. “This is about supporting colleagues and creating positive messages.”
 
The Women in Tech group is modeled after a pilot program the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council conducted a few years ago. Lienert took the initiative of moving the pilot into a formal program, Valerio says.
 
Valerio expects about 40 people to attend the meeting, judging from the number who have already registered and the inquiries she is getting. Although the council is a membership organization, non-members can attend the initial Women in Tech meeting.
 
“We don’t have an agenda yet” for the group, Valerio says. “At the introductory meeting, we will outline our goals and see what interests arise.

Source: Kris Valerio, executive director, The Chesapeake Regional Tech Council
Writer: Barbara Pash

The man who won a Nobel Prize for developing a break-through in how scientists study cells will be the featured speaker at a Baltimore event that looks at the future of biomedical research.
 
Dr. Martin Chalfie will speak at the University of Maryland Baltimore County’s 15^th annual Life Science Symposium , which is free and open to the public. Dr. Chalfie will talk about the work that won him Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008.
 
The event will be held Wed. April 18, from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the UMBC Ballroom, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore.
 
Over the years, the symposium has had a wide range of topics and speakers, but the theme is always cutting-edge research, says Caroline Baker, UMBC director of corporate relations and acting director of the career services center.
 
“It’s an opportunity for us to bring world-class scientists to this region,” Baker says of an event that generally attracts 200 people, among them science educators, healthcare professionals, biotechnology business leaders and members of the state’s bioscience community.
 
Besides Chalfie, who is a professor of biological sciences at Columbia University, the other featured speaker is Dr. Charles Bieberich, UMBC professor of biological sciences, who will talk about understanding the mechanisms and developing therapeutics for prostate disease.
 
Before the talks, there will be a faculty session in which UMBC faculty members doing life science research will talk about their work and recent discoveries.
 
“The goal is to create an opportunity for life science educators, biotech executives and scientists to come together and learn about exciting research, and to network and talk about their ideas,” says Baker.
 
Source: Caroline Baker, University of Maryland, Baltimore County director of corporate relations and acting director of the career services center
Writer: Barbara Pash

Hagerstown Community College, in Washington County, is turning itself in the high tech center of Western Maryland. Next month, the college will open a $25 million complex that includes the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Building, laboratories and a classroom building.
 
The new STEM building will house the college’s biotechnology, alternative energy technology, cybersecurity, math and engineering degree programs. In the fall the college will begin offering its science classes online, and is in the process of getting approval for online degree programs.
 
The college campus is also the site of the Technical Innovation Center, a self-sustaining entity that promotes technology development and the creation of technology jobs in the area.
 
Toxpath Specialists, a toxicological pathology firm, is the latest graduate of the Technical Innovation Center. It left the business incubator this year for commercial space, creating 10 new jobs in the county’s biotechnology community.
 
P. Chris Marschner, manager of the Technical Innovation Center, says the center currently houses 15 companies, among them medical software, wireless technology, biotechnology and cybersecurity. Since the center began in 1994, 50 to 60 startups have graduated, creating a total of over 400 jobs in the Western Maryland region.
 
Sources: Elizabeth Stull, Hagerstown Community College; P. Chris Marschner, Technical Innovation Center
Writer: Barbara Pash

The Maryland Biotechnology Development Center is accepting applications at their website for grant awards of up to $200,000 through Feb. 15th. These awards are available in two categories, biotechnology commercialization and translational research.

Biotechnology commercialization is focused on supporting projects that are in late-stage development and are poised to enter the market and begin generating revenue within three years. The translational research category is designed to help start ups that are bridging the gap between research institutions and private companies in Maryland, with the goal of taking promising research down a commercial path.

This is the third year for these awards, which have provided nearly $3.1 million in funding to 13 life sciences companies and three university research projects in Maryland.

Source: Maryland Biotechnology Development Center
Writer: Amy McNeal

Maryland leads the country in university conducted life sciences research per capita, according to a new report published by The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. The Life Sciences Maryland: Jobs and Economic Impact Report was released by Governor O'Malley at the BIO 2011 International Conference in Washington, DC.

The life sciences sector has been a major source of new job growth in Maryland in the last decade. Between 2002 and 2010, the life sciences sector was responsible for one third of Maryland's job gains. Life sciences jobs pay an average of 76% more than other jobs in the state, with an average salary of more than $91,000. The majority of the region's jobs in life sciences are in Research, Testing and Medical Labs, and Drugs and Pharmaceuticals. These specializations account for 94% of Maryland's life sciences jobs.  

Life sciences activity, including private sector jobs, Federally related jobs, and academic activity accounts for 71,618 Maryland jobs, or 3% of all jobs in the state. There are 15 Federal facilities, 16 universities or colleges, and over 500 private companies conducting life sciences research in Maryland. With more than 1700 private companies supporting and producing products for the life sciences sector in the state, Maryland ranks fifth in the country for overall concentration of jobs that are directly tied to life sciences.


Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development

Integrated BioTherapeutics, a firm that specializes in developing vaccines for infectious diseases and countermeasures for bio-terrorism threats, is growing. The company recently moved into a new, larger facility in the Gaithersburg Accelerator.

The move to a larger facility was spurred by the need for more secure, dedicated lab space as the company develops new vaccine technology. Integrated BioTherapeutics was recently awarded a grant from The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases to develop a second-generation Ebola vaccine in partnership with the University of Texas Medical Branch. The company also received a grant from NIAID in 2010 for research and development of a Staphylococcus vaccine. The second phase of that research project is due to wrap up this year. Integrated BioTherapeutics is currently working on projects to create vaccines for a host of infectious diseases, including Dengue Fever, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Marburg Viruses and Ebola. 

"We have a drive to make something that changes the world, to create a vaccine that mutes something that effects people. We strive to help others do that too," says Rob Galioto, Director of Business Development at Integrated BioTherapeutics.

Integrated Bio Therapeutics was recently honored at the inaugural TEDCO ICE awards as Company of the Year. The award was given in recognition of the company's growth. Since its launch in 2008, Integrated BioTherapeutics has secured over $30 million in government research funding, and increased its staff size from one employee to 30. The company is expecting to add five to ten staff positions in the next year.

Author: Amy McNeal

Source: Rob Galioto, Integrated BioTherapeutics

The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development has announced that the Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit has been re-funded for Fiscal Year 2012. With $8 million in new funding up for grabs, the program provides tax credits for firms looking to invest in qualified Maryland biotechnology companies.

The Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit is a central part of Governor Martin O'Malley's Bio2020 Initiative. The credit was first funded in 2007. Under the program, over 40 Maryland biotechnology firms have received credits that total more than $30 million. The qualification standards are very specific. To qualify, a company must have fewer than 50 employees, have their headquarters located in Maryland, be less than 12 years old, and obtain a certification from the Department of Business and Economic Development.

For 2011, the program has undergone a few structural changes. In previous years, investors and biotechnology firms had to apply in person for the tax credit at DBED. This year, applications can be filed online. Over 100 applicants filed for a portion of the funding on the first day of the online program's operations. Decisions on whether or not an investment is qualified under the program are expected to be delivered to the applicants within 30 days of filing.

Newly added for the 2012 Fiscal Year, biotechnology firms and investors can apply to be pre-qualified for the program. The 2012 pre-qualification process is going on now. The deadline for prospective biotechnology firms and investors to submit applications for qualification as a participant in the program is June 1, 2011. Applicants will receive notice that they have been accepted into the program by June 15, 2011.


Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development

Maryland's got Seoul. Governor Martin O'Malley inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Thursday, April 21 with the mayor of South Korea's capital city that focuses on bilateral cooperation between biotechnology institutions and companies.

Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the State House with a delegation of Korean business and government officials to sign the MOU, and O'Malley will see Oh again during his 10-day, junket to China, Korea, and Vietnam in late May and early June.

"Korean companies invested around $5 billion in the U.S. last year, and that number goes up every year," says John Brinkley of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Washington, D.C.

As the research commercialization process ramps up at Maryland institutions like the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda and Baltimore's Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland labs, Korean biotech companies are raising their sector's own profile in a national economy dominated by conglomerates like Samsung, Hyundai, and LG.

The Korean Biotech database counts over 20,700 biotech enterprises in South Korea, and Brinkley adds that Maryland's high concentration of biotech companies and research dollars is a major attraction for emerging life-science businesses from around South Korea, including the financial and political center Seoul, to establish connections to the state.

Writer: Sam Hopkins
Source: John Brinkley, Embassy of the Republic of Korea