BioBriefing: Industry Knowledge for the Non-Scientist

BioBriefing – 1 Day Class Industry Knowledge for the Non-Scientist June 16 | Frederick, MD

BioBriefing provides a concise overview of the key concepts of biotechnology and an introduction to the technology and terminology used by the biotech and pharma industries. Class Details: Date: June 16, 2011 Time: 9:00am-4:30pm Location: Frederick Chamber of Commerce 8420B Gas House Pike Frederick, MD 21701 Fee: $545 Deliverables: A reference guide packed with all the slides presented in the class, background scientific information, statistics, and a glossary of terms. Lunch and refreshments provided. Class Agenda: Industry Overview 9:00-10:15 Biotechnology Defined Industry Sectors: Healthcare, Agriculture, Industrial, Environmental Spotlight on Diagnostics Top Companies Structure of a BioScience Company Break 10:15-10:30 How Basic Science Drives Biotech 10:30-12:00 Biotechnology Goals The Cell DNA Genomes Genetic Variation Proteins Lab: DNA Isolation Activity: Genetic Variation of Taste Lunch 12:00-1:00 Genetic Engineering 1:00-2:00 Plasmids Recombinant DNA Genetically Engineered Cells Recombinant Proteins (Biologics) Disease Models Antibodies 2:00-2:45 Antibodies Defined How Antibodies Are Made Biotech applications of Antibodies Break 2:45-3:00 Drug Discovery & Development 3:00-4:15 Drug Discovery Timeline Rational Drug Discovery Target Validation Preclinical & Clinical Trials Q&A/Review 4:15-4:30 Who Will Benefit: Professionals from all sectors of the biotech, pharma and life sciences industries, including: sales, marketing, HR, legal, manufacturing, business development, finance, management, government relations, IT, safety, tech transfer Policy makers, lobbyists, attorneys Venture capitalists, angel investors, banks, analysts, financial managers Insurance brokers, real estate professionals Consultants, public relations specialists, journalists Bioscience association staff, economic development executives University administrators, research institute support staff Past Class Participants Include: Amgen, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Alexandria Real Estate, AstraZeneca, Biogen Idec, BIO, California Healthcare Institute, Chubb Insurance, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, Genentech, GE Financial, IBM, Life Technologies, Johns Hopkins University, KPMG, RENO Construction, Marsh, MedImmune, Merrill Lynch, Miles & Stockbridge P.C., Millipore, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Novartis, SAS, Stratagene, UCSF Questions? Contact Kerri Muir at 410-377-4429 ext. 22 or muir@biotechprimerinc.com Classes fill up quick so register today!

Copyright © 2011 BioTech Primer, Inc. All rights reserved.

April 8th Biobeers and SAIC-Frederick NCI tour today

Biobeers on Friday rocked the Akonni house.  We had about 200 people and killed 3 kegs in just about 3 hours, a new Biobeers record (although some people have nothing to be proud about).  Let’s hope we can break that record in June.  I have several people offering to sponsor in June, but we need a venue.  If anyone has space for 200 people and the desire to have 200 people in biotech roost in their hood foe a few hours in June, let me know…

I uploaded some pictures sent to me by Cheryl at Akonni onto MeetUp.  If you have any you’d like to share, please let me know.

And speaking of FredCoBio stuff, I was invited by my friends at SAIC-Frederick to be a part of a “Media Tour” of NCI-Frederick.  the tour included a nice overview, a tour of the Laboratory of Proteomics and Analytical Technology (LPAT), the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer and the Electron Microscope Lab.  It was a good tour, fairly basic on the hard core science side of things, but a good tour nonetheless.

I learned a couple things:

1.  US consumers spent about $5.1 billion USD on Halloween in 2010.  The entire budget for NCI annually is $5.2 billion.  That means we spent about as much on pagan rituals and high fructose corn syrup products (excluding motor fuel)  in 2010 as we did on cancer research.

2.  The Federal Government spent in 30 days in the was in Iraq as much as they have in the past 30 years on cancer research (per the NCI budget).

OK, which one is has the best ROI?  The War on Cancer or the War on Terrorism?

TechConnect

Just got this email from the Chamber of Commerce.  Looks like a good event

Join us for TechConnect:
a special event for the Frederick County BioTech Community!

THURSDAY, AUGUST 12
8:15 to 9:45 a.m.

Presented by the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce
8420-B Gas House Pike, Frederick
Our office is located at the intersection of Gas House Pike & Monocacy Blvd.,
across from Clustered Spires Golf Course.

8:15 a.m.
Enjoy coffee, pastries, and networking with other area BioTech professionals.

8:30 a.m.
An update and Q&A with panelists from Fort Detrick, SAIC-Frederick, Life Technologies, and BNBI.
Featuring presentations by the following Chamber Board Members & Trustees:

COL Judith Robinson
Commander; U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Detrick

David Bufter
Chief Administrative Officer, Treasurer,
and Corporate Vice President of Administration; SAIC-Frederick, Inc.

Dr. Uplaksh Kumar
Director of Operations and Site Leader; Life Technologies, Frederick

Dr. J. Patrick Fitch
Laboratory Director for the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC)
and President of Battelle National Biodefense Institute, LLC (BNBI)

We’re extending an invitation to more than 50 companies, and space will be limited. To register, please call 301.662.4164 x1 or email info@frederickchamber.org before August 5.

A lot going on in Fredcobio

It’s been a busy in Fredcobio.  SIAC-Frederick signs a deal with Sporian for Remote HIV detection

SAIC-Frederick, Sporian Microsystems Collaborate On Device For HIV Screening in Remote Areas

FREDERICK, Md., Nov. 4, 2009 – SAIC-Frederick, Inc., a contractor to the National Cancer Institute, has entered into a three-way research collaboration with Sporian Microsystems Inc. of Lafayette, Colo., and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) centering on a hand-held device for HIV testing that could potentially be used to improve screening in remote areas.

The collaboration is part of the National Cancer Institute’s Advanced Technology Partnerships Initiative, which aims to speed up the translation of basic research into technologies and treatments for patients with cancer and AIDS. SAIC-Frederick, as prime contractor at the National Cancer Institute at Frederick, is facilitating ATPI partnerships for the government.

HIV/AIDS continues to have a disproportionate impact on populations in low socioeconomic and rural areas. Therefore, SAIC-Frederick, Sporian, and the FDA will focus on developing a hand-held device to address the prevailing need for a sensitive, point-of-care (POC) assay that can detect evolving strains of HIV early in the course of infection in resource-limited settings. POC technologies that facilitate early diagnosis often lead to improved treatment and facilitate epidemiological surveillance and prevention of diseases that are of particular importance in these areas.

The proposed diagnostic assay is especially suitable for those areas that lack the refrigeration facilities, stable electrical power, highly trained personnel, and clinical laboratory infrastructure required by many current tests and devices.

“For optimal use in health disparity settings, it is also important for POC diagnostic systems to be rapid, simple to use and cost-effective, but not sacrifice diagnostic accuracy,” said Dr. Michael Usrey of Sporian. “The objective of this partnership is to combine the assay expertise of SAIC and FDA with Sporian’s optoelectronics interrogation, signal processing, algorithms and packaging to produce an effective, low-cost POC device.”

About Sporian Microsystems

Sporian Microsystems, Inc. is an aggressive sensors and packaging company. Sporian develops, markets, manufactures, and sells novel sensors, multiple sensor-suites, sensor-subsystems and sensor data-loggers. These systems deliver several key features, including ruggedness, small size, low power consumption and low cost. Sporian’s patented BioOverseer® sensor architecture provides specific and sensitive serum pathogen detection in a portable point-of-care (POC) package. For more information, call 303-516-9075 x19 or visit Sporian’s website at www.sporian.com.

There are more opportunities for contract work at the Fort.  An RFP posted for  S10-072 RFP Package issued 11-6-09.  I know someone out there could do this one.

Today, it was announced that Qiagen Acquired SABiosciences for $90M.  Wow.  I hope to see a few SAB people at Biobeers on Friday.  We can cry in our beer together.

Which reminds me, BioBeers is this Friday at 4:30 PM at the Flying Dog Brewery on Wedgwood Blvd.  Be there or be square.  Our sponsors this time are the Tyler Companies and Talent Works Scientific Staffing.

Do please try to RSVP.  We need to give our Friends at Flying Dog a heads up for how many people to expect and I want to have enough chow.  As always, ImQuest, official wing sponsor of BioBeers, will bring some wings.  We’ll get some sandwiches from Frisco’s, too.

Expecting a full house again.  If anyone has a last minute scientific presentation to give , please let me know.

 

 

FredCoBio: MIA

Geesh, I just realized that I haven’t posted in nearly a month.  So much news to catch up on I don’t know where to start.

The reason I haven’t posted is that I have been working a contract at MedImmune, aiding in the commissioning of their new Frederick facility where they will be scaling up Synagis.  It’s a wonderful product, a monoclonal antibody called  palivizumab, which protects preemies and high risk babies from lung infections.  It’s very busy here and I expect it to continue to be busy through the end of the year (at least that’s how long I think my contract will be running).  I really don’t know how much of what I see here is considered “confidential” so I’ll keep quiet.  Suffice to say, big bioreactors and 4-5 contractors for every MedImmune employee on site.

It’s kind of fun running into the other contractors all over town in different bars and restaurants.  Especially now that MedImmune has already received $453 million in contracts since May, but Frederick doesn’t have much to do with making the H1N1 vaccine.  A lot of the people here do travel to Philadelphia where that product is packaged, though.

Speaking of swine flu, I gave a talk tat the NIH last week on the Commercial uses of Stem Cells.  My focus was on the “commerce”  created specifically by Stem Cell research, staying away from the Therapeutic elements.

Check it out:

Enough shameless self promotion.

Frank from SAIC-Frederick sent me this press release, which I have not seen covered elsewhere:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Amplimmune Enters Into Broad Alliance with NCI

Collaboration Will Focus on

Potential New Therapies for Cancer and Autoimmune Disease

FREDERICK, Md., Oct. 13, 2009 — Amplimmune, Inc., has entered into a broad agreement with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for further advancement of two Amplimmune product candidates into therapies for cancer and autoimmune disease.

Under the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), Amplimmune will collaborate on multiple projects with NCI and its contractor, SAIC-Frederick Inc., under the umbrella of the NCI’s Advanced Technology Partnerships Initiative (ATPI). The goal of ATPI is to accelerate the translation of cancer and AIDS research into clinical therapies, diagnostics, and treatments. NCI-Frederick’s prime contractor, SAIC-Frederick is facilitating these partnerships for NCI.

The collaborations will focus on furthering development of Amplimmune’s AMP-110 and AMP-224 therapeutic biologic candidates. AMP-224 blocks activation of the PD-1 receptor and inhibits immune evasion typically induced by tumors or infectious disease pathogens. AMP-110 is being developed as a biologic to treat autoimmune/inflammatory disease and has been demonstrated to attenuate key inflammatory pathways that contribute to a wide range of different autoimmune diseases.

“We are very pleased to establish this broad CRADA with the National Cancer Institute,” said Michael Richman, Amplimmune’s President and CEO.  “We look forward to collaborating with investigators at NCI and feel that these collaborations will have a significant impact on accelerating development and advancing AMP-224 and AMP-110 into the clinic,” he added.

“We value the opportunity to collaborate with Amplimmune on development of their leading therapeutic biologic candidates to treat cancer and immune disorders.  This partnership reflects the true potential of NCI’s ATPI—to accelerate leading innovations into clinical application in the fight against cancer, through strategic partnerships.  We look forward to working closely with our colleagues at Amplimmune on our shared goals under the CRADA,” said David Hoekzema, SAIC-Frederick’s Vice President of Business Development.

About Amplimmune Inc.

Headquartered in Rockville, Md., Amplimmune is focused on developing novel biologics targeting key co-stimulatory/co-inhibitory molecules that rebalance the immune system and are intended for treating cancer, autoimmune disease, infectious disease, and transplantation. With its strong development focus, Amplimmune is rapidly advancing two lead molecules toward clinical development: one in the area of cancer and the other in the autoimmune disease setting. AMP-224 will be advancing into a phase 1 clinical trial for cancer in 2010. Working closely with its founders at Johns Hopkins University and other collaborators, Amplimmune is expanding its technology base in the area of immune co-stimulatory/co-inhibitory molecules and has assembled a large foundation of reagents, models, know-how, and intellectual property to further develop its product pipeline as well as to discover novel biomarkers, ligands, and receptors. For more information: www.amplimmune.com.

About SAIC-Frederick

SAIC-Frederick, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a Fortune 500^® company, is the operations and technical support contractor for the National Cancer Institute’s research and development center in Frederick, Md.  This is a national laboratory dedicated to rapidly translating basic research into new technologies for diagnosing, treating, and preventing cancer and AIDS. SAIC-Frederick maintains a full suite of advanced technologies in areas such as nanotechnology, genomics and imaging; operates the federal government’s drug and vaccine manufacturing facilities; operates the high-performance Advanced Biomedical Computing Center; and supports more than 300 clinical trials for patients in the United States and around the world.

Information about the NCI’s Advanced Technology Partnerships Initiative can be found at ATPIhome.com

Contacts:  Frank Blanchard,  SAIC-Frederick, Inc.  (301) 846-1893  blanchardf@mail.nih.gov

Gary Fanger, Amplimmune Inc. (301) 309-9800  fangerg@amplimmune.com

They’ve also been awarded (SAIC-Frederick that is) $300MM in ARRA funding (the Stimulus hits Frederick County) and have heard rumors through my contacts in SAIC_Fred purchasing that the money is going to be released soon, in the form of several new hires and loads of contracts.  Stay tuned and I will try to give FredCoBio companies and inside edge.

And speaking about big money and Big SAIC-Frederick Projects, Matan recently announced they’ve secured $300MM in financing for the Riverside Park project:

Contact : Noelle Schilling

Tel   (301) 815-9980   Cell (301) 471-7552

Email nschilling@mataninc.com

Matan Companies Teams with Federal Capital Partners to Finance The National Cancer Institute At Riverside Research Park in Frederick Maryland

(September 30, 2009-Frederick, MD) The Matan Companies has teamed up with Federal Capital Partners (FCP) to complete the financing for the development of the National Cancer Institute’s 330,000 square foot Advanced Technology Research Facility (ATRF) at Riverside Research Park in Frederick Maryland.  The state-of-the art 200 million dollar office and laboratory facility will commence construction immediately and is slated for delivery in mid 2011.    As part of the larger 177 acre Riverside Research Park, the National Cancer Institute’s 62 acre campus will have expansion capacity for another 570,000 square feet, reserved for life-science and advanced technology partner organizations.  “This site will be the center of an intensive new effort to bring together government, industry, academic, and nonprofit partners, working side-by-side, utilizing technological resources second to none, to more rapidly translate our latest genetic and molecular discoveries about cancer into effective new treatments that benefit patients,” said John E. Niederhuber, M.D., director of the National Cancer Institute.   With SAIC-Frederick, Inc. as its prime contractor, the new facility will be the only Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) in the country focused exclusively on biomedical research and development, and concerted technology and R&D partnership efforts toward reducing the burden of cancer.

Matan and FCP partnered to secure the 52 million dollar construction financing from Wells Fargo Bank and US Bank.  “Today’s financing environment demands creative approaches to bring large, high profile projects like this to the market.  The ATRF is one of the largest private biotech developments in the country to secure construction financing and it is a credit to everyone involved,” stated Mark Matan, Principal of the Matan Companies.   Matan Companies will develop and manage the project.

“We are incredibly excited to have formed this partnership with the Matan Companies to bring this very important project to fruition,” said Esko Korhonen, Managing Partner of FCP.  “The diligent work by our teams resulted in consummating a great financing package and we appreciated the opportunity to work with Wells Fargo, US Bank, Jones Lang LaSalle and Cassidy & Pinkard to get this deal completed.”

Cassidy and Pinkard helped to secure the equity and debt for this transaction and Jones Lang LaSalle represented the Tenant.

About Riverside Research Park

Riverside Research Park is the first biomedical research and development park of its kind in Frederick Maryland.  The 177 acre site has all necessary infrastructure and utilities in place and is ready to build.  Riverside delivered its first tenant in the Spring of 2008, a 54,000 sf facility for Charles River Labs.   Riverside can accommodate up to 1.8 million square feet of lab, R &D, and office space.    “Frederick has a vibrant biotech community servicing NIH, the National Cancer Institute and Fort Detrick, but until now there hasn’t been a destination for these companies to come together in a collaborative campus type environment in this market.   Riverside Research Park provides just that and there has been a very high level of interest from companies looking to co-locate with the National Cancer Institute” said J.P. Matan, Director of Leasing for Matan Companies.   Located within the city limits of Frederick and less than three miles from the main gates of Fort Detrick,  Riverside is uniquely positioned to provide private sector companies, government agencies, and universities a secure and collaborative work environment. Abundant green space, water features, walk/jogging trails, courtyards, and chance meeting spaces will all add to the collaborative work environment and campus like feel of Riverside Research Park.    For more information please visit: www.riversideresearchpark.com

About Federal Capital Partners

Founded in 1999 by partners Esko L. Korhonen and Lacy I. Rice, Federal Capital Partners (FCP) is a real estate investment and development company headquartered in Washington DC.  Other partners include Alex Marshall and Tom Carr, former Chairman and CEO of CarrAmerica Realty Corp. who joined FCP as a partner in early 2007.  Since its inception, FCP has acquired more than $1.2 billion of real estate assets consisting of multi-family, office, retail and industrial assets.  In 2008 FCP raised a 240 million dollar co-mingled, private equity fund which it is currently investing in multiple product sectors in the Mid Atlantic region.  FCP has established a strong reputation in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area real estate markets as an investor with a keen eye for indentifying unexploited markets and product sectors.

About Matan Companies

Headquartered in Frederick Maryland for over 30 years, Matan Companies is one of the regions premier commercial real estate and development firms.   Founded on the principle of providing a comprehensive, full-service approach to all disciplines involved in commercial real estate, Matan has assembled an in-house professional staff with a proven track record in the disciplines of asset management, investment sales, debt placement, property management, leasing, development and construction.  Matan’s knowledge of the local market and established history, including certainty of closing, expeditious due diligence and timely settlement dates, sets the company apart from the competition.  This full service approach gives Matan the ability to control every phase of the real estate investment process.  Matan’s primary geographic focus is Frederick, Maryland and the I-270 Corridor.  Matan’s current portfolio consists of over 3.2 million square feet in 30 buildings with an additional 3 million square feet in the development pipeline.

About NCI-Frederick and SAIC-F

With SAIC-Frederick (SAIC-F) as its prime contractor, NCI-Frederick, is home to a cadre of researchers studying cancer and HIV/AIDS and is host to NCI’s Advanced Technology Program, which encompasses nanotechnology, high-performance computing, genomics, and biomedical imaging, among other areas.  SAIC-F, a wholly owned subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a Fortune 500^® company (NYSE: SAI) – is the operations and technical support contractor for the National Cancer Institute’s research and development center in Frederick, Md.  This is a national laboratory dedicated to rapidly translating basic research into new technologies for diagnosing, treating, and preventing cancer and AIDS. SAIC-Frederick maintains a full suite of advanced technologies in areas such as nanotechnology, genomics and imaging; operates the federal government’s only drug and vaccine manufacturing facilities; operates the high-performance Advanced Biomedical Computing Center; and supports more than 300 clinical trials for patients in the United States and around the world.    “The NCI has identified an urgent need to convert basic research findings into effective cancer treatments that can be delivered to patients right away,” said Larry O. Arthur, Ph.D., president of SAIC-Frederick. “The consolidation of our operations into modern facilities will enable us to do just that, with the specific goal of shortening timelines, reducing costs, and increasing productivity—all of which will benefit cancer patients and people at risk for cancer.”  More information about the NCI’s Advanced Technology Partnerships Initiative (ATPI) can be found at www.atpihome.com.

NCI at Riverside Research Park Building Rendering: 
https://www.box.net/shared/static/r2a6uoimhs.tif

Additional Contacts:

Esko Korhonen                                    Frank Blanchard                                 Joe Carter

Federal Capital Partners                     SAIC-F                                                  Wells Fargo

202-386-7160                                      301-846-1893                                      202-303-3016

esko@fcpdc.com Blanchard@mail.nih.gov carterjl@wellsfargo.com

Jeff Jacobson                                       Paul Collins                                           Pete Briskman

US Bank                                                Cassidy & Pinkard                              Jones Lang LaSalle

703-442-5482                                      202-463-2100                                      301-214-1144

Jeffrey.jacobson@usbank.com pcollins@cassidypinkard.com Pete.Briskman@am.jll.com

I actually could’ve broken this story before the press release, but I was busy and didn’t want to annoy one of my bestest BioBeers sponsors.  But do check out the new Riverside Park web site.  It’s awesome.

And speaking about more rumors, sadly, this one is NOT a rumor. Marilgen, in my home town of Ijamsville (just a mile or so north of the MoCo line), was acquired by Origene. My sources tell me that the few employees left at Marilgen have been offered positions at OriGene and will be relocated to Rockville (boo, hiss).  Marilgen has been struggling for a year or so since one of their primary investors decided to pull their cash out.  I have a lot of personal ties to Marligen, since most of the people there, in their hayday, were former LTI colleagues of mine and half of the Vialing depertment I used to run at LTI. Sherry Challberg hired me in 1988 and moved me to Maryland, for which I am eternally grateful.

This makes me think that it’s already time to schedule the next BioBeers.  I think I’ll make a new post with a poll on which day of the week to have the next one.  I’ve been trying to rotate it around because everyone has different schedules.

SciBarCamp PA Day 2 and Beyond

I’ve been trying to find the time to throw up a post about the second day of SciBarCamp, so here it goes.  I am kind of glad I didn’t rush one up on Friday morning since I have found so many more worthy posts from other people, especially some of the pictures.  I forgot to bring my camera, so my pictures were just from my Blackberry, which aren’t bad but really not that good.

Before we get into Day 2, I wanted to share something from the flight in.  I had a window seat on the flight in and it seemed like we were on a Southern approach to SFO.  I was amazed at the seemingly endless “sludge ponds” that lined SF Bay in all colors of the rainbow.  I saw a post this morning on twitter that points to the fact that these are actually “Salt Ponds” and teeming with life.  The post also has a link to view on GoogleMaps

So back to Day 2 of SciBarCamp.  The sessions started right on time at 9:30 AM.  My first session was a OpenSource Health/disease research discussion with Jen McCabe of NextHealth.org (among others) and Alexandra Carmichael of CureTogether.com

From Alex Pang's Flickr stream

Next up was a discussion with Matt Baggott entitled “WTF, Psychedelics?”  discussing the use of psychoactive compounds in research, primarily MDMA or “Ecstasy”.   Some pretty cool stuff

U-stream of this discussion can be found on Naomi Most‘s most awesome blog post HERE.

Then the last session before lunch was with Dewayne  Hendricks of Warpspeed.com.  There we discussed Asimov’s Foundation trilogy and Buckminster Fullers “World Game“.   Dewayne was a participant in the original World game 40 years ago and recently re-played the game to many of the same prognostic outcomes. I’ll have to tell you, the conclusion’s aren’t that good.

After lunching on an endless supply of delicious Curried dishes, the afternoon sessions were with Naomi Most and DrKiki (aka Dr Kirsten Sanford)  called “Spinning Science”.   Click on the picture to take you to the full Ustream or go to nthmost’s web page for more.

After this session was one by Grad student and WIRED science writer Aaron Rowe & Rick Henrikson: The future of medical technology. I don’t have any pictures form that one, but I would recommend looking through some of the comments on FriendFeed for this and many other sessions.  I think that pretty much every session had one person tweeting or directly inputting on FriendFeed.

My last session was Brian Mallow, the Science Comedian.  Since I’ve already posted about Brina, so I’ll spare you again.  There were many other sessions I missed, as highlighted in an excellent post by Martin Fenner.   There are also a couple of good  Photo albums out there.

Mine is HERE, Naomi’s HERE and Alex Pang’s HERE

One great shot from Alex’s collection is the Group Shot we took at 1 PM:

That evening, while some prepared to head to SciFoo at Google the next day (Pictured Duncan and  Andrew), I headed out with a numbe of other BarCampers to a Singularity University event at NASA Ames.

One of the goals of Singularity is to save 1 billion people in this 9 week course.  They call this the “Humanity’s Grand Challenge”

Suffice to say that they had a number of “Brilliant” people on the panel (pun intended), but I think my time would’ve been better spent in a pub somewhere.  Geesh…

It was an amazing and wonderful week in San Francisco, but I think I’ve had enough of the Left Coast for another year.

Updates to the Riverside 5 Post

In order to maintain my journalistic integrety (not that I really have any claim at being called a “journalist”) I should correct some mis-information I propagated in the previous post about the Riverside 5 development.

Riverside Five is actually a part of Riverside Corporate Park, which sits next door to Riverside Research Park, home to the planned NCI facility. It doesn’t actually have anything to do with SAIC/NCI, but SRA International did pick the location for a new office space due to it’s proximity to the park.

SRA leases one floor now and is the first tennant in this new facility.  Best of all, I got a couple better pictures to share via the Matan boys.

We’re Baack!

Sorry about the long break the past couple of weeks.  I have been busy on a number of fronts.  Last week I went to US Pharmacopia HQ in Rockville to participate in the “Cell, Gene and Tissue therapies Expert Committee meeting #7″ .  It was quite eye opening, although somewhat structured.  

This week I have dedicated myself to getting my MTTF Grant application completed.   I spent a good part of the day on Thursday last week working with my collaborators at the FDA to get the project defined in a bit more detail. The first pass is done, but the application needs to be reviewed and submitted.  Last week I was busy, busy.  On Wednesday I attended the BioEspaña program as a part of the Hopkins Biotech Network in MoCo.  It was very informative and interesting.  I know España is not the center of stem cell research in the universe (like we are here in FredCoBio), but I was very impressed with the amount of activity going on in different regional Biotech clusters.  Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to work with BTI Biotechnology Institute on some of their stem cell work.  Heck, any chance for a company paid trip to the Basque region would be fine with me.

Friday was the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce Annual Golf Scramble at Musket Ridge.

Speaking of the Chamber, I’ll be presenting the Social Media Conference session entitled

“Beyond Facebook & Twitter:  Niche networks, new platforms, mobile web, and the future of social media for business.”  That’ll be a mouthful.

More details here:

PDF registration form – including full conference schedule & list of presenters:

http://bit.ly/fredsmc

Online calendar & registration – members must login for discounted pricing:

http://bit.ly/fredsmc-web

Official Twitter tag, for viewing online discussions about this conference:

#fredsmc –
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23fredsmc

I didn’t get much Biotech business done on the golf course, but was fortunate to sit with Larry Arthur of SAIC-Frederick at the lunch afterward.  Yet another BioBeers fan added to the roster!

Speaking of SAIC-Frederick, I may have stirred up a bit of “fun” with my FedBizOps post a couple weeks back.  We sure did overwhelm the Procurement folks with more responses than they expected.  In case you didn’t read the comment, there is now a link Directly on SAIC-Frederick’s web site: 
http://www.ncifcrf.gov/bizopps/rfps.asp
.  Bookmark it and keep an eye on it.  I’ll continue to try to find out more about how to get FredCoBio companies first in line for landing some of these prime contracts.

In Other SAIC-Frederick news (and I apologize because I got this on May 13th), a Press Release:

SAIC-Frederick, Inc. and Sensor Technologies Collaborating to Understand Complex Protein Interactions in Cancer

FREDERICK, Md., May 13, 2009 — SAIC-Frederick Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) [NYSE: SAI], and Sensor Technologies Inc. of Shrewsbury, Mass., have signed a collaboration agreement to begin integrated studies of complex protein interactions involved in cancer and other diseases.

The agreement is part of the National Cancer Institute’s Advanced Technology Partnerships Initiative, which aims to further NCI’s mission by speeding the translation of research discoveries into new treatments for cancer and AIDS. SAIC-Frederick, as prime contractor for the National Cancer Institute at Frederick, is facilitating these partnerships for the government.

The collaboration will involve proteomics and imaging studies to advance the understanding of complex structural interactions and binding kinetics of proteins in cells and in cancer disease processes.

The Optical Microscopy and Analysis Laboratory (OMAL) and Protein Chemistry Laboratory (PCL) at SAIC-Frederick, together with Sensor Technologies, will begin integrated studies to assess the dynamics of fluorescence-tagged molecules utilizing Sensor Technologies’ newly launched Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) platform—“QuantumXpert™.”

Studies will also include integration with in vivo microscopy techniques in OMAL with the goal of developing dynamic, biomolecular models that are both physical and performed by computer simulation. Sensor has redefined FCS, creating the first portable, three-channel FCS spectrometer, enabling studies of molecular complexing and interaction at single-molecule levels. The QuantumXpert™ and Sensor’s revolutionary FCSXpert™ software introduce this important single molecule technique into the laboratories of biochemistry and cell and molecular biology in an easy-to-use format.

Applications of this technology have the potential to provide insights that could accelerate the development of new treatments. By integrating this enabling platform with in vivo microscopy techniques, the research teams also seek to advance the field of computer simulation modeling in cancer research and development.

“SAIC-Frederick is very pleased to be collaborating with the science and technology experts at Sensor Technologies. We believe our cooperative efforts to study and integrate leading biomolecular analysis and imaging technologies will result in new insights and analytical approaches to tumor cell biology and function,” said Dr. Stephen Lockett, head of OMAL at SAIC-Frederick.

“Sensor Technologies welcomes the opportunity to bring the detection and measurement capabilities of its FCS platform to bear on the large challenges inherent in understanding the cell biology of cancer and AIDS,” said Dr. David E. Wolf, chief science officer for Sensor Technologies.

In other news, I got a nice “Thank You” letter from what might be the first Job landed because of FredCoBio.  The only problem is that the job was in PG County, but the request came in through the web site, I mailed it out to my “recruiter & hiring managers” mailing list and the person was hired.  Anyone that wants on that list, just let me know.  I’ll be surprised if you’re not on there already.

And don’t forget about NCI’s Seminar series running this month.  I try to post one every month but skipped May.  The seminars are free and open to the public.  This one next week sounds interesting: “Highlights of Thirty-Two Years of Drug Design and Chemistry at the NCI”.  I will try to attend.

And finally I will leave you with a Life Technologies Press release and video:

Invitrogen Scientists Compile Comprehensive Guidebooks for Stem Cell Research

Industry Thought Leaders Edit Two Reference Books Essential for Advancing Regenerative Medicine CARLSBAD, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May. 21, 2009– Invitrogen, a division of Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:LIFE), today announced that four of its scientists whose work is focused in stem cell research are editors of two recently published books that capture many of the latest findings in this field and provide comprehensive guidelines for applying technologies to advance related applications. Emerging Technology Platforms for Stem Cells, by John Wiley & Sons, and Regulatory Networks in Stem Cells, by Springer Science + Business Media are expected to be essential references for researchers, scientists and clinicians applying stem cell science to personalized and regenerative medicine. Emerging Technology Platforms for Stem Cells was edited by Uma Lakshmipathy, Ph.D., a principal scientist, and lead editor of the book; Jon Chesnut, a research and development director; and Bhaskar Thyagarajan, Ph.D., a program manager, all from Life Technologies. This book presents general principles and methodologies for professionals involved in stem cell research. It focuses on current technologies that can help scientists to overcome some of the challenges they face in developing stem cells as therapeutic agents, incorporating scientific papers by 78 authors from 10 countries. Regulatory Networks in Stem Cells was edited by Mohan Vemuri, Ph.D., a research and development director at Life Technologies; and by Vinagolu K. Rajasekhar, Ph.D., a senior research scientist, at Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. This book describes key factors involved in stem cell pluripotency, maintenance, and directed differentiation towards specific lineages, and how regulation of these complex events results in stem cell fate choices in normal and disease conditions. The book includes writings of 200 authors from around the world. Uma Lakshmipathy, Ph.D., Principal Scientist, Invitrogen Primary and Stem Cell Systems at Life Technologies “We think about how technology addresses challenges related to stem cell research daily, and we realized that there are no resources out there – nothing on the market – that describes these emerging technologies and how they will apply to therapy and drug discovery. We wanted a book that would be a window to the future.” Mohan Vemuri, Ph.D., Research and Development Director, Invitrogen Primary and Stem Cell Systems at Life Technologies “Regulatory networks are the molecular systems operating at the DNA, RNA and protein levels that play a crucial role in making the stem cells do what they’re supposed to do in normal development, or in cellular repair in disease.” Additional Resources Emerging Technology Platforms for Stem Cells – Overview, reviews, and order information Regulatory Networks in Stem Cells – Overview, reviews, and order information Invitrogen Stem Cell Solutions Invitrogen Leadership in Regenerative Medicine Invitrogen is a leading provider of platform independent, essential life science technologies for disease and drug research, bioproduction and diagnostics. It is the premier provider of products and services for advancing the field of regenerative medicine. Invitrogen’s efforts are focused on supplying researchers and developers with the most comprehensive suite of products for advancing cell therapy efforts, including the industry’s premier portfolio of tools and reagents for stem cell research. It also focuses on creating unique primary and stem cell models for better and more efficient drug screening. Invitrogen, together with Applied Biosystems ― a global leader in providing innovative instrument systems to accelerate academic and clinical research, drug discovery and development, pathogen detection and forensic DNA analysis ― is part of Life Technologies Corporation, which markets the life science industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of solutions for molecular and cell biology. Invitrogen and Applied Biosystems products are used in nearly every major laboratory in the world.

Spring Research, a Festival at NCI-Frederick, Ft Detrick

I had a great time at the Spring Research Festival at Ft Detrick on Thursday.  I posted a quick slide show in YouTube (can’t figure out how to embed the bloody slide shows in WordPress straight from Picasa).

I spent more than half the time walking through the posters.  There must have been at least 200 posters up.  It’s really amazing the research being done there by the various agencies.  I wish I could figure out a way to get it publicized more!  I have been working with Frank at SAIC-Frederick to try and publish more of their press releases, since they are not always picked up by the wire services or local papers.

My slide show features a number of shots of the various infectious disease, vaccine presentations, but there is just as  much, if not more, Cancer & developmental biology stuff.

So we’ll just keep bridging gaps one at a time.

Tech Awards

I had a great time at the tech Awards last night.  Perhaps enjoyed the adult beverages too much, but met a number of old & new faces.  Turn up your volume for the slide show:

It was nice to catch up with a number of the Life Tech folks.  So happy that they are turning things around and back on the right track.  Quite a few “former” Life Tech folks there as well.  I met David Edgerley there.  He’s the former Director of DBED.  In our brief conversation I found out he was good friends with my old boss, friend, recently deceased RK Mason.  Small world.

The slide show features WGS Systems.  I know they are not Biotech, but they are Incubator tenants like myself and I promised them I’d take some pictures for them.  Maybe next year when I win, they’ll return the favor?

UPDATE 3/14:  Here is the FNP write up.  They don’t have any rock-n-roll on their slide show