Chris Abraham

Monday, November 30, 2009

What I Bought Today at Borders

Four German mini-books for my travels to Berlin during the month of December.

Dungeons and Dragons at Borders

I used to be a Dungeon Master when I was in Intermediate and High School in Hawaii. Good to see there are still loads of D&D stuff to play with.

At Borders' check out they ask you if you would like to buy a book for a child and I chose a book by Plato. That kid will hate me! classics

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Drinks and Dinner at the Fresh Air Fund Fall Benefit

Late Stew Lunch at Lily's at the Roger Smith Hotel

Late Stew Lunch at Lily's at the Roger Smith Hotel

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

At Lily's Bar at the Roger Smith Hotel

Tucking Into a Chicken Pot Pie at Lily's Bar

Checked In at the Roger Smith Hotel

The Roger Smith Hotel is my New York City home-away-from-home -- at least until I get that pied-à-terre.

New York City

Grand Central Station

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Emergent BioSolutions Enhances Manufacturing Infrastructure with Strategic Acquisition in Baltimore

Emergent acquires manufacturing facility from MdBio and land from City of Baltimore for $8.2 million


ROCKVILLE, MD, November 13, 2009Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of a 55,000 square foot manufacturing facility from MdBio Foundation and the land on which the facility stands from the City of Baltimore for a total purchase price of $8.2 million.  The facility, located within the City of Baltimore, Maryland, previously operated as a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed facility used by an experienced contract manufacturing organization (CMO) to produce a number of FDA approved products.

“Emergent is excited about this new facility in Baltimore because it houses several suites capable of manufacturing multiple products at the same time,” said Fuad El-Hibri, chairman and chief executive officer of Emergent BioSolutions.  “Accordingly, this facility will provide the flexibility to conduct large-scale manufacturing of rPA while also producing other products in our pipeline.”


Emergent worked closely with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), MdBio, the City of Baltimore, Baltimore Development Corporation, and other related governmental agencies to complete this transaction.

“Maryland is continuing to strengthen its biotechnology prowess by helping to grow industry leaders like Emergent BioSolutions,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “The transaction between MdBio and Emergent will maximize the value of the BioProcessing Center by maintaining a bio-manufacturing infrastructure for Maryland’s bioscience community, enabling additional investment to be made in the Center and ensuring that those high paying, highly skilled jobs are created and remain in Maryland.”

Emergent BioSolutions employs over 600 employees across the globe, with over 150 employees located in its corporate headquarters in Rockville and one of its product development sites in Gaithersburg.

“This acquisition reflects our commitment to both continually creating jobs and investing additional capital in the State of Maryland,” said Daniel J. Abdun-Nabi, president and chief operating officer of Emergent BioSolutions.  “We extend our sincere appreciation to the state and local governments for their ongoing support of our efforts to develop our local manufacturing capabilities and look forward to growing Emergent’s presence in the state.”

Mayor Sheila Dixon, commenting on the announcement, said, “The City of Baltimore is excited about welcoming Emergent BioSolutions to the Baltimore biotech community.  With great research institutions such as Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland as potential partners in the area, we know that Emergent will be a wonderful contributor in the future.”

“Emergent’s decision to expand in Maryland underscores not only our rich research and development environment, but also our mission to support the complete product development life cycle that includes bio manufacturing,” said Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Secretary Christian S. Johansson. “The Department was pleased to work with MdBio Foundation and the Baltimore Development Corp. to bring this project to fruition.”

About Emergent BioSolutions Inc.
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacture and commercialization of vaccines and therapeutics that assist the body’s immune system to prevent or treat disease.  Emergent’s marketed product, BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed), is the only vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of anthrax.  Emergent’s development pipeline includes programs focused on anthrax, botulism, tuberculosis, typhoid, hepatitis B and chlamydia.  Additional information may be found at www.emergentbiosolutions.com and www.biothrax.com.

About MdBio Foundation, Inc.
The MdBio Foundation, Inc. is a charitable and educational organization whose mission is to provide and support the State of Maryland’s bioscience community through bioscience awareness, education and workforce development programs including scholarships, post-doctoral conference and career expos, BioGENEius science competition and summer science camps.  Since 2003, MdBio has operated the MdBioLab, an educational and well-known mobile bioscience laboratory that visits high schools throughout Maryland to educate youth on biosciences.  Over the past six years, MdBioLab has held more than 2,800 classes with 55,000 students and 1,500 teachers. MdBio Foundation became an affiliate of the Tech Council of Maryland in 2006.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, including any potential future securities offering, our expected revenue growth and net earnings for 2009, and any other statements containing the words “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “estimates” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including our ability to obtain FDA approval to manufacture products or product candidates in the newly acquired facility; appropriations for BioThrax® procurement; our ability to obtain new BioThrax® sales contracts; our plans to pursue label expansions and improvements for BioThrax®; our plans to expand our manufacturing facilities and capabilities; the rate and degree of market acceptance and clinical utility of our products; the success of our ongoing and planned development programs, preclinical studies and clinical trials; our ability to identify and acquire or in license products and product candidates that satisfy our selection criteria; the potential benefits of our existing collaboration agreements and our ability to enter into selective additional collaboration arrangements; the timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for our other product candidates; our commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and strategy; our estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital requirements and needs for additional financing; and other factors identified in the company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2009 and subsequent reports filed with the SEC. The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.

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Emergent BioSolutions Enhances Manufacturing Infrastructure with Strategic Acquisition in Baltimore

Emergent acquires manufacturing facility from MdBio and land from City of Baltimore for $8.2 million

ROCKVILLE, MD, November 13, 2009 – Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of a 55,000 square foot manufacturing facility from MdBio Foundation and the land on which the facility stands from the City of Baltimore for a total purchase price of $8.2 million. The facility, located within the City of Baltimore, Maryland, previously operated as a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed facility used by an experienced contract manufacturing organization (CMO) to produce a number of FDA approved products.

“Emergent is excited about this new facility in Baltimore because it houses several suites capable of manufacturing multiple products at the same time,” said Fuad El-Hibri, chairman and chief executive officer of Emergent BioSolutions. “Accordingly, this facility will provide the flexibility to conduct large-scale manufacturing of rPA while also producing other products in our pipeline.”

Emergent worked closely with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), MdBio, the City of Baltimore, Baltimore Development Corporation, and other related governmental agencies to complete this transaction.

“Maryland is continuing to strengthen its biotechnology prowess by helping to grow industry leaders like Emergent BioSolutions,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “The transaction between MdBio and Emergent will maximize the value of the BioProcessing Center by maintaining a bio-manufacturing infrastructure for Maryland’s bioscience community, enabling additional investment to be made in the Center and ensuring that those high paying, highly skilled jobs are created and remain in Maryland.”

Emergent BioSolutions employs over 600 employees across the globe, with over 150 employees located in its corporate headquarters in Rockville and one of its product development sites in Gaithersburg.

“This acquisition reflects our commitment to both continually creating jobs and investing additional capital in the State of Maryland,” said Daniel J. Abdun-Nabi, president and chief operating officer of Emergent BioSolutions. “We extend our sincere appreciation to the state and local governments for their ongoing support of our efforts to develop our local manufacturing capabilities and look forward to growing Emergent’s presence in the state.”

Mayor Sheila Dixon, commenting on the announcement, said, “The City of Baltimore is excited about welcoming Emergent BioSolutions to the Baltimore biotech community. With great research institutions such as Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland as potential partners in the area, we know that Emergent will be a wonderful contributor in the future.”

“Emergent’s decision to expand in Maryland underscores not only our rich research and development environment, but also our mission to support the complete product development life cycle that includes bio manufacturing,” said Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Secretary Christian S. Johansson. “The Department was pleased to work with MdBio Foundation and the Baltimore Development Corp. to bring this project to fruition.”

About Emergent BioSolutions Inc.
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacture and commercialization of vaccines and therapeutics that assist the body’s immune system to prevent or treat disease. Emergent’s marketed product, BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed), is the only vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of anthrax. Emergent’s development pipeline includes programs focused on anthrax, botulism, tuberculosis, typhoid, hepatitis B and chlamydia. Additional information may be found at www.emergentbiosolutions.com and www.biothrax.com.

About MdBio Foundation, Inc.
The MdBio Foundation, Inc. is a charitable and educational organization whose mission is to provide and support the State of Maryland’s bioscience community through bioscience awareness, education and workforce development programs including scholarships, post-doctoral conference and career expos, BioGENEius science competition and summer science camps. Since 2003, MdBio has operated the MdBioLab, an educational and well-known mobile bioscience laboratory that visits high schools throughout Maryland to educate youth on biosciences. Over the past six years, MdBioLab has held more than 2,800 classes with 55,000 students and 1,500 teachers. MdBio Foundation became an affiliate of the Tech Council of Maryland in 2006.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, including any potential future securities offering, our expected revenue growth and net earnings for 2009, and any other statements containing the words “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “estimates” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including our ability to obtain FDA approval to manufacture products or product candidates in the newly acquired facility; appropriations for BioThrax® procurement; our ability to obtain new BioThrax® sales contracts; our plans to pursue label expansions and improvements for BioThrax®; our plans to expand our manufacturing facilities and capabilities; the rate and degree of market acceptance and clinical utility of our products; the success of our ongoing and planned development programs, preclinical studies and clinical trials; our ability to identify and acquire or in license products and product candidates that satisfy our selection criteria; the potential benefits of our existing collaboration agreements and our ability to enter into selective additional collaboration arrangements; the timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for our other product candidates; our commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and strategy; our estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital requirements and needs for additional financing; and other factors identified in the company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2009 and subsequent reports filed with the SEC. The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.

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Saturday, November 14, 2009

Chris Abraham, Rachel Sterne, and Chris Card at Scholastic in NYC http://tinyurl.com/yhc553y

Friday, November 13, 2009

Learning German words on the Acela to DC using Language Express flash cards
Learning German words on the Acela to DC using Language Express flash cards

Honoring Harry Potter at @scholastic world HQ
Honoring Harry Potter at @scholastic world HQ

Taking a NYC Taxi Downtown

Slept like a baby at the Roger Smith Hotel here on Lexington Ave in the heart of Manhattan @rshotel

Thursday, November 12, 2009

ftw
Thank you so much for the wonderful surprise from @rshotel ! ftw

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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Win a Free Roku Player from Motionbox

The rumors are true.... Motionbox is soon to be a featured Channel on the Roku digital video player.  You'll be able to hook the player up to your television and enjoy instant access to all the videos you’ve uploaded to Motionbox. All you need is a TV, a high-speed Internet connection (wired or wireless), and a finger to click the remote!

As a special sneak preview, we're giving away a few brand new Roku players to people who become Motionbox members this month.

All you have to do is sign up for a FREE Motionbox account before November 30, 2009 then email offers@motionbox.com with subject line "Roku Giveaway" and we'll enter your name for a chance to win a Roku HD  Player.

Learn more about Roku:
Read a recent article about Roku.
Check out the Roku website.

Win a Free New Roku Player from Motionbox

The rumors are true.... Motionbox is soon to be a featured Channel on the Roku digital video player. You'll be able to hook the player up to your television and enjoy instant access to all the videos you’ve uploaded to Motionbox. All you need is a TV, a high-speed Internet connection (wired or wireless), and a finger to click the remote!

As a special sneak preview, we're giving away a few brand new Roku players to people who become Motionbox members this month.

All you have to do is sign up for a FREE Motionbox account before November 30, 2009 then email offers@motionbox.com with subject line "Roku Giveaway" and we'll enter your name for a chance to win a Roku HD Player.

Read more: http://ping.fm/vvjDR

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Lunched at AYC and then bought new Nike Pegasus runners at Fleet Feet in Annapolis. New socks, gloves, ear warmers too. running sport

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Walking Down 7th Street to Peregrine Espresso


Beautiful View from Annapolis Yacht Club

I really love Annapolis Maryland

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Dinner placard to honor recipients of the Scottish Rite 32nd Degree
Dinner placard to honor recipients of the Scottish Rite 32nd Degree

Christopher J. Abraham, 32

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Motionbox Announces Motionbox PRO -- Video-Sharing for Business

Thomson Reuters and Gawker Media among the first to sign up for the new commercial version of Motionbox’s acclaimed video service

New York, NY (PRWEB) November 4, 2009 -- Motionbox, the leading personal video sharing service, today announced Motionbox PRO. Intended for businesses and other organizations seeking to share video with selected users, Motionbox PRO fills a previously unmet need in the video sharing market. Professional users were flocking to Motionbox because of its virtually unlimited storage and full screen HD playback, but needed the ability to upload and share commercial content in an unbranded, high quality player. Motionbox PRO answers that demand.

News ImageMotionbox PRO provides a comprehensive video hosting solution that includes archival storage, web-based editing, streaming and embedding, all in superior quality, up to 1080p HD. Commercial customers will receive best-in-the-industry support for HD formats and pricing that is significantly lower than that of competitors in the commercial video sharing market.

The introduction of Motionbox PRO comes as a response to a wide range of Motionbox customers, including real estate agents, film production companies, and small businesses in search of an affordable professional video hosting solution.

Motionbox PRO also comes in a version for larger Enterprises, and among the pre-launch customers to move to Motionbox’s new PRO version are Thomson Reuters and Gawker Media.

"Reuters is committed to exploring innovative new ways of disseminating news and information, and applauds Motionbox for their easy to use upload tools and web-based editing. Using Motionbox, Reuters' journalists are able to get the most current video content distributed to Reuters' readers and clients," said Chris Cramer, Global Editor, Multimedia, Reuters.

Tom Plunkett, CTO of Gawker Media said, "Gawker manages a number of blogs that all use video content avidly. We chose Motionbox because of the customizability of the platform and because Motionbox HD video quality is the best out there."

Coming on the heels of Motionbox’s partnership with Shutterfly and its acquisition of Viddyou, the release of Motionbox PRO caps a year of strong growth for the New York-based company, which enables millions of users to share their video memories privately and securely with friends and family.

To learn more about Motionbox PRO, log on to: http://ping.fm/0vafd

About Motionbox
Motionbox enables individuals and families to easily upload, edit, store, and share their personal video memories, including those that have been captured in High Definition. In addition to free membership options on Motionbox.com and via partners such as Shutterfly, Bebo, and AOL Video, Motionbox provides a subscription-based Premium service featuring HD playback and sharing, unlimited archival storage, and download capabilities. Motionbox also offers hard-good products that allow consumers to enjoy personal videos beyond devices and computers. Visit http://ping.fm/tWglD for more information.

PRESS CONTACT:
Dan Krueger
Abraham & Harrison Public Relations
http://ping.fm/d92Zc
dkrueger@abrahamharrison.com

&

Stephanie Mello
Motionbox, Public Relations Manager
stephanie.mello (at) motionbox (dot) com