News Summary - 4/16

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Apr 16, 2008

United BioSource acquisition

United BioSource Corp., of Bethesda, a global pharmaceutical services organization that helps emerging and established life science companies develop and commercialize medical products, announced its acquisition of Envision Pharma, a scientific communications and technology company based in Horsham, U.K., with offices in Southport and Glastonbury, Conn., and Philadelphia. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. With a focus on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, Envision integrates scientific communication services and targeted software applications that contribute to marketplace understanding of pharmaceutical compounds at launch and beyond.

New bank in Frederick

A new bank is opening in downtown Frederick. BlueRidge Bank said it received all the necessary state and federal permits to open for business Wednesday on Patrick Street next door to the Weinberg Center for the Arts. The bank is led by Brian Gaeng, the former president of Fredericktown Bank in Frederick and Fidelity Bank in Hagerstown. Gaeng said BlueRidge will serve Frederick, Washington and Montgomery counties with a full range of retail and commercial banking products.

Hagerstown air service no go

A federal offer to subsidize commercial air service in Hagerstown is finding no takers. Hagerstown Regional Airport Business Development Manager Greg Larsen said a resumption of scheduled passenger flights is unlikely until at least this fall despite the recent completion of a nearly $62 million runway extension. The airport has been without commercial air service since October after the U.S. Department of Transportation deemed the city too close to bigger airports to qualify for Essential Air Service subsidies. Although Congress passed a bill in February allowing the subsidies to resume, the offer is only good through Sept. 30.

Spotlight on Showcall

Showcall Inc., an event production company based in Baltimore, was selected by the Archdiocese of Washington to design the stage and set, produce the audiovisuals and direct the overall show when Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass on Thursday at Nationals Park. The firm also will coordinate two other events related to Benedict's visit to the United States: the pope's meetings on Wednesday with U.S. bishops at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and his meeting on Thursday with religious leaders of all faiths at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, which is near the shrine and Catholic University in Washington.

iJet obtains third patent

iJET Intelligent Risk Systems, of Annapolis, which provides travel intelligence and customized travel services primarily to corporations and travel agencies, said it has been granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its Global Asset Risk Management systems and methods. The patent recognizes the proprietary business process and technology behind iJET's Worldcue Asset Risk Management. Worldcue helps multinational organizations monitor and manage risks to their facilities, people and supply chain assets. This is the third patent issued to iJET for its proprietary approach to risk management.

Boost for Iomai's patch

Iomai Corp., of Gaithersburg, which develops vaccines and immune system stimulants that don't use needles, said it received approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand its program to develop a so-called adjuvant patch that would boost the effectiveness of an injected avian flu vaccine. Iomai said it will begin a Phase 2 study designed to identify the optimum adjuvant dosage to enhance the body's immune response to an avian influenza vaccine. This may lead to a single-dose treatment to combat avian flu, rather than the currently required regimen of two vaccinations administered 28 days apart, Iomai said.

New trade association

A new trade association, the nonprofit North American Merchant Advance Association Inc., announced its launch. NAMAA, based in Bethesda, represents merchant cash advance providers and promotes competition and efficiency throughout the merchant advance industry. The merchant cash advance industry provides working capital to small and mid-sized businesses in need of financing for reasons such as the purchase of new equipment or inventory, expansion or remodeling, payoff of debt or taxes, or emergency funding. Jeremy Brown, president and chief operating officer of Bethesda-based RapidAdvance, is NAMAA's current president.

MedImmune drug advances

MedImmune Inc., of Gaithersburg, a biotechnology company focused on developing and manufacturing products to combat infectious disease, autoimmune disease and cancer, announced the start of two new clinical trials as part of its efforts to develop CAT-354, an antibody that MedImmune sees as a potential treatment for patients with asthma. One of the studies is a Phase 2 clinical trial in Europe and Australia designed to assess the potential of the antibody in patients with uncontrolled asthma despite optimal treatment. The company has also begun dosing patients in the first U.S.-based clinical trial of the antibody, a Phase 1 study to assess the antibody's effects in healthy adult patients.