BIOtechNow

What do gas, milk, bacon, electricity and now your Directors and Officers Liability Insurance coverage have in common? It may sound like the start of a bad joke but, in fact, they’re all goods or services that cost more than they used to. Some of you may have noticed that the price of Directors and Officers Liability, or D&O Insurance, is going up. Companies and organizations across the biotechnology sector are seeing price increases, with Read More 

2012 has been an eventful year for biotech IP issues.  Below are the top 5 articles and from Patently Biotech in 2012.  Click on the links to read the full articles. 1.  The Real Reason Why Salk Refused to Patent the Polio Vaccine A guest writer in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal repeated the oft quoted Jonas Salk statement about his Polio vaccine: “There is no patent.  Could you patent the sun?”  Many use this statement Read More 

By Eric K. Steffe, Eldora L. Ellison, Ph.D., Todd Spalding, and Deborah A. Sterling, Ph.D. For companies facing freedom-to-operate obstacles, the AIA provides a number of tools for dealing with troublesome patents.  While proceeding at risk in the face of such patents sometimes make sense, inter partes review (IPR) provides a viable option for challenging them and should be considered as a valuable addition to one’s freedom-to-operate toolbox. Inter partes reexamination (IPX), which (bio)pharma used Read More 

The broader biotech indices are up more than 30 percent this year and have reached levels not seen since the peak of March 2000. Larger biotechs account for much of the index returns, as we have described previously, and have helped the sector outperform the S&P 500 by two fold. But how have smaller biotech companies been performing? As of Nov 30, 27 companies that started the year under $1 billion in market capitalization have Read More 

With roughly 80,000 bioscience jobs in more than 3,500 businesses across all bioscience sectors, it is no wonder the 2013 BIO International Convention is returning to Chicago, April 22- 25, 2013. With a large presence in all biotech sectors – agricultural feedstock and chemicals, drugs and pharma, medical devices and equipment, research, testing and medical laboratories and bioscience-related distribution, attendees will have the opportunity to meet with and visit premier R&D facilities, from national laboratories Read More 

Anxious to get a head start on your Convention planning but don’t know where to begin? Join the BIO Convention team’s monthly webinar series. Open to all attendees, pavilion organizers, delegations and prospective attendees, the webinar gives direct access to the drivers of the event, BIO staff. Last week’s webinar, Branding at BIO, focused on what to expect for exhibitor booth partnering, cost and time saving tips when dealing with Chicago union labor and how to Read More 

India recently asked the global community for comments on its “Draft Guidelines for Processing of Patent Applications Relating to Traditional Knowledge and Biological Material.”  BIO was very active in their support of the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity and “believes that a practical and workable Access and Benefit Sharing regime will benefit both the owner and the user of genetic resources and help countries to utilize their resources to develop their economies.”  BIO Read More 

Modern biomedical innovation and the discovery of new cures and therapies for devastating diseases require robust collaboration and coordination among industry, research institutions and physicians. By bringing together the brightest minds in medical research, our nation’s research enterprise has successfully brought hundreds of new drugs, biologics, and vaccines to market in recent years and developed a wealth of clinical prescribing information. Ongoing research is advancing the fight against some of humanity’s worst scourges, such as Read More 

The U.S. military is making strides toward reducing its dependence on foreign oil by increasing its use of renewable energy such as advanced biofuels. The Air Force wants to use alternative aviation fuels for 50 percent of its domestic aviation needs by 2016, and the Navy plans to use alternative energy sources to meet 50 percent of its energy needs by 2020. Why is this so important to the military and our country? For every Read More 

The EPA on Friday Nov. 16 rejected the petitions by governors of several states to waive the Renewable Fuel Standard for the coming year. The petitions were filed in August 2012 while farmers across numerous states suffered the worst drought in recent history. While everyone recognized the severe economic hardships caused by the drought, the agency found that the evidence did not show that the RFS “would likely or even probably cause harm to the Read More 

Fuels America is a new coalition of groups and individuals who have a stake in the success of biofuels. The coalition is founded on a simple core principle: Renewable fuel is good for the U.S. economy, for our nation’s energy security and for the environment.  BIO is a founding member of the coalition and along with others we ask that you join the fight by visiting the website and pledging support for the Renewable Fuel Read More 

For the next Company Snapshot for the BIO Investor Forum, we’ve spoken with one of the presenting companies at the event, Profil Institute for Translational Medicine, Inc. To find out more about this organization and what they’re doing for biotech, please read below! You’ll be able to see their presentation onsite, Wednesday 10/10 at 9:30am in the Presidio Room.   Company Snapshot What is your company’s lead product or technology? Based on collaborations with biopharma, Read More 

Last week, the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) hosted its annual BioWest Conference – a one day event attended by more than 500 industry leaders, government representatives, executives, researchers, investors and entrepreneurs. Colorado Public Radio’s Ryan Warner interviewed CBSA’s April Giles about the conference and several innovative biotech companies in the state. Give it a listen.

If you read this blog, there’s a good chance you already know that Massachusetts is one of the biggest biotech hubs in the world. The Commonwealth’s successes in biotech economic development can be attributed to a number of things. Perhaps foremost, its world-class universities, such as MIT and Harvard, continue to churn out the innovation that keeps venture groups interested. Meanwhile, established biotechs and Big Pharma continue to focus more and more R&D work in Read More 

As National Immunization Awareness Month ends and flu season approaches, many adults around the country are making plans to get their annual influenza vaccine.  In recent years, awareness of the need for influenza vaccination among adults has increased, however, immunization rates among US adults to prevent other vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) is still well below current public health goals.  While getting an influenza vaccine is a great first step, we still have a long way to Read More