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NEW INNOVATION ALLIANCE AIMS TO DRIVE NEW MED TECH VENTURES IN REGION

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BALTIMORE, April 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A new collaboration bringing entrepreneurs and investors together with physician-scientists, surgeons, and medical technologists promises to launch the Baltimore region as a major national hub for new biomedical ventures and start-up companies. The initiative, called the “Innovation Alliance,” leverages the national and international leadership in biomedical research and technology of the City’s two major universities (University of Maryland, Baltimore and Johns Hopkins University) to attract venture capital, foster startups, drive economic growth, and ultimately bring to market new treatments, cures, and technologies that will directly improve lives.

Shape of the Alliance

The Innovation Alliance will have three main components centered around funding and support for innovators as they take ideas from the lab to the marketplace. These include gathering twice a year to give partners and investors an exclusive first look at new technologies and emerging businesses supported and reviewed by the life sciences accelerator University of Maryland Baltimore Life Science Discovery (UM-BILD). Alliance partners will also work with an Innovation Advisory Group to review and consult on grant and investment decisions for cultivating new biomedical projects. Lastly, members of this new partnership will offer mentorship for university-affiliated researchers with entrepreneurial ideas.

“Our vision of the new Innovation Alliance is an open, collaborative network where members can invite potential partners to accelerate healthcare innovation,” said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor. “Together, we can drive transformative medical solutions to improve patient care, advance scientific discovery, and position Maryland as a global leader and in the med-tech space.”

Fostering Innovation

Several key initiatives across the academic and medical enterprises of the University of Maryland already exist to support entrepreneurship and will help drive the success of the Innovation Alliance. These include UM-BILD, which, over four years, will provide more than 40 innovators with up to $100,000 in funding to help them take discoveries from the lab bench to the marketplace.

“We believe that innovation is the key to shaping the future of healthcare,” said Bert W. O’Malley, MD, President and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center. “And through our incubators and special funding, we are fostering technology-driven breakthroughs here in Baltimore and across Maryland.”

UM Ventures is another vital strategic partnership between UMB and the University of Maryland, College Park that provides entrepreneurs with wet lab facilities, medical device prototyping, and $4.5 million in annual investments.

Two initiatives, the iHabor Innovation Center and the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS)/UMB Innovation Challenge, support innovations in patient care and hospital operations. Each year, the Innovation Challenge offers up to six hospital-based teams between $25,000 to $125,000 each for innovative proposals and guidance in navigating FDA approvals and market entry. The iHabor Innovation Center, meanwhile, serves as the UMMS patient care technology incubator. In addition to mentorship, it offers innovators funding up to $350,000 per project.

The Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC), meanwhile, offers cutting-edge computational support for researchers in all fields and University of Maryland campuses. Founded in 2002 and located in North Bethesda, UM-IHC applies AI, bioinformatics, and immersive technologies to uncover hidden patterns in data to help make more accurate medical decisions, predict diseases, and identify novel treatments.

“Successful life science discovery takes a tremendous amount of work by some of the very best and brightest scientists. To translate those discoveries into innovative therapies, diagnostics, and devices that can be commercialized for actual patient use is its own unique, additional challenge,” said Jason Rose, MD, MBA, a UMSOM Associate Professor of Medicine, the Associate Dean of Innovation and Physician Science Development, and Director of Faculty Entrepreneurship. “The University of Maryland is unique in the levels of targeted support we can offer our innovators and entrepreneurs, from seed-level funding to guidance on regulatory processes, as they seek to commercialize their discoveries.”

Innovative Maryland Companies

At a mid-March Innovation Alliance kick-off event, the first companies presented their technologies and therapies to more than 150 attendees. Vascular Rescue, Inc., for example, presented a prototype device for semi-automated insertion of venous catheterizations and arterial cannulations that could reduce complications for patients and the resulting unreimbursed hospital costs. Developed by UMB and co-founded by Raj Sarkar, MD, PhD, head of the UMSOM Division of Vascular Surgery, Vascular Rescue is currently seeking FDA clearance for the AVAD through the 510(k) pathway.

CoapTech, developed by UMB and co-founded by Steven Tropello, MD, UMSOM Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, is seeking funding to scale up the production and sales of its 510(k) pathway cleared PUMA-G platform. The device uses ultrasound to guide the minimally invasive placement of patient feeding tubes.

Globin Solutions, of which Dr. Rose is CEO and Co-Founder and Dean Gladwin is Chair of the Board and Co-Founder, exhibited its portfolio of resuscitation therapies, beginning with a first-of-its-kind antidote to carbon monoxide poisoning. The company is currently seeking $3.5 million in funding for a Phase I/IIa first-in-human study for safety and biomarker outcomes.

Joining the Innovation Alliance

The Alliance offers multiple avenues for engagement for those interested in contributing to the project of making Maryland a leader in biomedical innovation, from attending Alliance gatherings, joining the Innovation Advisory Group to help review pilot grants, or mentoring start-ups. Donations can also be made to the University of Maryland Medicine Innovation Fund to amplify the impact of investments made across all Innovation Alliance initiatives.

To learn more or get involved, contact Kim Morton, Associate Dean for Development at University of Maryland Medicine, at kmorton@som.umaryland.edu

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SOURCE University of Maryland School of Medicine

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Flō Networks Announces Intention to Launch Public Tender Offers to Acquire Up to 100% of Controladora Axtel, S.A.B. de C.V. and Axtel, S.A.B. de C.V.

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MEXICO CITY and EL PASO, Texas, Sept. 1, 2026 /CNW/ — Transtelco Holding, Inc. (doing business as Flō Networks, or “Flō”), a U.S.-based, independent digital infrastructure provider operating its own fiber-optic network across Mexico, the Southwestern United States and Latin America, today announced its intention to launch concurrent public tender offers (ofertas públicas de adquisición, or the “Offers”) to acquire up to 100% of the outstanding shares of Controladora Axtel, S.A.B. de C.V. (“Controladora Axtel”) and up to 100% of the outstanding CPOs of Axtel, S.A.B. de C.V. (“Axtel,” and together with Controladora Axtel, the “Axtel Companies”).

Flō has received preliminary approval from the Boards of Directors of both Axtel Companies to continue the process

Flō has received preliminary approval from the Boards of Directors of both Axtel Companies to continue the process toward launching the Offers, and is working to obtain the required regulatory approvals.

The commencement of the Offers remains subject to authorization by the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores, clearance by the Comisión Nacional Antimonopolio, the receipt of any other required regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of the applicable contractual and corporate conditions. Subject to the satisfaction of these requirements, Flō is prepared to move promptly toward commencement of the Offers. The terms and conditions of the Offers, including the applicable offering documents, will be published in accordance with Mexican securities laws and the regulations of the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores at the appropriate time.

“This is an important step in our long-term vision for Flō and for the digital infrastructure that will support Mexico’s continued economic and technological development,” said Miguel Fernandez, Chief Executive Officer of Flō Networks. “By bringing together the complementary networks, capabilities and talent of Flō and Axtel, we have an opportunity to create a stronger digital infrastructure platform with greater scale, reach and capacity to serve customers across Mexico and beyond. We believe that stronger infrastructure enables stronger businesses, greater innovation and new opportunities for the communities and economies we connect.”

The proposed acquisition would combine complementary assets and expertise to strengthen Flō’s ability to invest in network resilience, expand its portfolio of digital services and deliver greater value to businesses operating in Mexico and across the region. Flō believes the combination would create meaningful operational and commercial synergies while supporting continued investment in the infrastructure required for critical technologies for productivity and competitiveness. The transaction would also create opportunities for long-term value creation for customers, employees, shareholders, partners and the communities the companies serve.

About Flō Networks

Founded as Transtelco in 2001, Flō Networks is a leading digital infrastructure provider connecting companies on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and across the Americas. Flō provides comprehensive connectivity solutions and advanced cloud infrastructure to Fortune 500 companies, telecommunications providers and cable operators through a fiber-optic network spanning more than 30,000 route miles across the Southwestern United States and Mexico, with connectivity across fifteen countries throughout the Americas. For more information, visit flo.net.

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SOURCE Flō Networks

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Arista Demand Hires Jordanna Howard to Strengthen the Company’s Continued Growth

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Arista Demand, a leading provider of B2B demand generation solutions, is pleased to announce Jordanna Howard has joined the company as VP, Global Integrated Sales, effective September 1, 2026.

Prior to joining Arista Demand, Jordanna spent five years at Veritas Media Group, serving as VP of Client Services. Jordanna played a key part in growing VMG’s client portfolio and driving net-new revenue through new business partnerships, while also expanding and strengthening existing client relationships. She was instrumental in championing VMG’s reputation for white-glove service, exceptional client experiences, and long-term client success.

Jordanna joins Arista Demand as the organization continues to expand its capabilities, strengthen and build client partnerships, and help B2B organizations connect with the right prospects through results-driven demand generation and media initiatives.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jordanna to Arista Demand,” said Managing Director, Jennifer Sand. “She brings tremendous experience, energy, and a client-focused approach that aligns perfectly with how we work. Jordanna will be an important part of our continued growth, and we’re excited to have her on the team.”

In her new role, Jordanna will focus on client development, partnerships, and sales. Her experience in digital and non-traditional media will further strengthen Arista Demand’s ability to deliver innovative and integrated, measurable solutions, beyond lead gen, for clients.

“I’m excited to join Arista Demand and become part of a team that is so focused on its clients and their success,” said Howard. “I look forward to contributing to the company’s growth and helping our clients achieve meaningful results.”

Jordanna lives in Napa, California, with her partner, Jeff, and daughter, Mackie. Outside of work, she loves spending time with family and friends and is passionate about giving back.

She serves on UCSF’s Board of Directors for “All May See” vision foundation as well as sfBIG’s Board, supporting and connecting the Bay Area advertising community. Jordanna is also actively involved in her daughter’s school and is the troop leader for her local Girl Scouts Brownie troop.

About Arista Demand

Arista Demand helps B2B organizations accelerate revenue through intent targeted demand generation programs designed to connect brands with their respective audience that matter most. Through a combination of intent, 1st party data, strategy, technology, and client-focused execution, Arista Demand helps marketers build pipeline and drive measurable business results. Arista Demand brings buyers and sellers together around the globe. 

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SOURCE Arista Demand

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Reducto Unveils a Frontier Parsing Model That Makes the World’s Hardest Documents AI-Ready for 1¢ a Page

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The new r-1 model is the first in a family of document intelligence models that reduces parsing errors by up to 20% while replacing complex, multi-tool pipelines with a single model that costs up to 6× less.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reducto today introduced r-1, a frontier document parsing model that turns complex PDFs, scans, spreadsheets, and other files into accurate, structured data for AI systems.

Reducto has already established itself as a leader in document parsing by handling the long tail of complex files that break conventional tools. Available today in preview, r-1 extends that lead—reducing errors by up to 20%, improving latency at high volumes, and bringing the all-in cost down to 1¢ per page.

Before an AI system can reason over a document, it must first understand what is on the page. That becomes difficult when meaning is encoded not only in text, but also in tables, handwriting, reading order, formatting, checkboxes, strikethroughs, and the position of content. A parser that misreads a financial table can give an AI agent the wrong numbers. One that drops a strikethrough can reverse the meaning of a contract.

Established services such as Amazon Textract and Azure Document Intelligence helped make cloud document processing widely available. But organizations working with complex documents often still combine multiple tools, models, and layers of post-processing to achieve the accuracy they need. In Reducto’s evaluations, r-1 outperformed commonly used hyper-scaler products and large LLMs on complex documents while providing a complete parse at one all-in price.

Built from the ground up and trained on some of the most challenging document data in the world, r-1 combines layout detection, reading order, tables, formatting, grounding, and granular citations in a single model. It is designed for the long tail of documents where simpler parsers break down, including dense tables, unusual layouts, low-quality scans, handwriting, watermarked content, and files that do not follow predictable templates.

By combining these capabilities, r-1 can handle an organization’s full document workload without requiring teams to route files among providers or maintain separate pipelines for different document types. Its flat price of 1¢ per page includes the complete parse, without additional model charges or feature-based multipliers.

r-1 is the first in a broader family of Reducto parsing models designed for different points on the accuracy, latency, and cost curve. Planned additions include r-1 mini, a smaller model for speed- and cost-sensitive workloads, and automatic routing that selects the right model for each page.

Organizations using another parser can receive up to $5,000 in credits to test r-1 on their most difficult documents, along with hands-on benchmarking support, at reducto.ai/migrate. r-1 is also available today in preview through a configuration flag in the Reducto Parse API.

About Reducto

Reducto is an agentic document platform that turns complex, real-world documents into structured data for AI agents and document-intensive workflows. The company has raised more than $108 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital and has processed more than a billion pages a month. Its customers include Harvey, Scale AI, Vanta, Airtable, Toast, and Fortune 10 enterprises.

 

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SOURCE Reducto

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