424th Edition, September 22, 2020

Listen now via Apple https://apple.co/2RMiuoY, Google https://bit.ly/3iUXZCw, Spotify https://spoti.fi/32R5ll4, TuneIn https://bit.ly/33QE1m0, YouTube (Audio) https://bit.ly/367Ux47.

Dr. Mossman obtained her Ph.D. in herpes virology from the University of Liverpool, UK. Thereafter she conducted two postdoctoral fellowships in HIV vaccine research in the USA, first at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, and then at the University of Washington, Seattle. She spent 8 years within Corixa Corporation, a biotechnology company focusing on developing novel approaches to vaccines, including adjuvants, delivery strategies, and proprietary antigen candidates for infectious disease and cancer vaccines.  She joined GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines in 2006 and spent 10 years in Rixensart Belgium in the early development of infectious disease vaccines. More recently, she relocated to Maryland as part of the founding leadership team for the USA R&D headquarters for GSK Vaccines in Rockville, where she was initially heading up the Discovery effort. She is now Head of the Rockville R&D site and oversees a portfolio of vaccine candidates at all stages of development as well as driving key vaccine technologies, including mRNA and Adenovirus platforms. 

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Don’t miss your chance to be named the BioHealth Startup with the Most Commercial Potential at the BHCR Forum, win $10,000 and more!

Applications due: 9/30

Finalists notified by: 10/2

Mandatory presenter coaching for finalists: 10/7

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This invitation-only event is free for executive level biotech leaders and is presented by the Association of University Research Parks, AstraZeneca, BioHealth Innovation, Children’s National Health System, Emergent BioSolutions, George Mason University, J.P. Morgan, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Department of Commerce, Virginia Bio, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC set the bar high for biotech innovation. So please join us for our 6th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum that will highlight the accomplishments of today and chart our successes of tomorrow.

We are excited to bring you an exceptional line up of speakers to this virtual event!

*Please note that attendees’ name might be recorded if participating in the chat function during the event.

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HOUSTON, Sept. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA), a leading global producer of specialty polymers and high-value biobased products derived from pine wood pulping co-products, is seeking regulatory approval for BIAXAM, a novel sulfonated polymer technology with long-lasting self-disinfecting properties that has been demonstrated in studies to quickly inactivate up to 99.99% of SARS-CoV-2 (virus that causes COVID-19) and other microbes.

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Emergent BioSolutions will further strengthen its contract development and manufacturing capabilities by expanding into viral vector and gene therapy by investing $75 million in its Canton facility.

The facility is focused on the development and manufacturing of drug substances for live viral vaccines, including the company’s smallpox vaccine.

“Emergent’s expansion into advanced therapy CDMO services is based on our biologics expertise and a strong understanding of our customers’ current and future needs,” said Sean Kirk, executive vice president, manufacturing and technical operations at Emergent BioSolutions. “We are investing in our people, plants and products to meet the growing demand for precision treatments and to help get these therapies to patients.”

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Qiagen signed up to distribute the mid- and high-throughput versions of NeuMoDx’s PCR automation systems in major markets outside the U.S. in 2018. The agreement saw Qiagen take a 20% stake in its new partner and secure an option to buy the remaining 80% for $234 million, plus adjustments for cash, indebtedness and transaction costs. Since then, Qiagen and NeuMoDx have worked to expand the test menu, most recently in response to COVID-19.

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BioHealthInnovation invites you to join over 120 leading VCs, Corp VCs, Angel Investors and over 100Top Innovators online at Venture Summit Virtual Connect being held on November 17th – 19 th 2020.One-on-One (zoom) investor meetings, 2 days of content including timely panel discussions, workshopsand an inspiring keynotes. Register now to confirm your spot: https://bit.ly/2DMyzYx & get an extra20% off the Early Bird Rates with Discount Code: BIOHEALTHVIP .

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Bio and Pharma Manufacturing Renaissance

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Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (Aurinia) is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company (Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:AUP); NASDAQ (NASDAQ:AUPH) focused on commercializing therapies for rare autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company announced in March 2020 that it had established its U.S. commercial center of operations in Rockville, Maryland, which is actively staffing up with key personnel. Among the key leaders, Aurinia attracted were two veteran industry executives with deep ties to the region: former top MedImmune executives Peter Greenleaf and Max Donley are the company’s CEO and EVP, Internal Operations and Strategy, respectively. They both joined Aurinia’s leadership team in 2019

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Graybug Vision, an Ocular disease biotech, filed with the SEC on September 4, 2020 for an $86 million IPO on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol GRAY. SVB Leerink, Piper Sandler, Needham & Co. and Wedbush PacGrow are the joint underwriters on the offering, for which pricing terms were not disclosed.

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BALTIMORE, Sept. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — GlycoT Therapeutics LLC, a UM Ventures start-up company based on intellectual property (IP) developed at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), has executed a sublicense agreement for its glycoengineering technology with Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (Daiichi Sankyo; www.daiichisankyo.com). The agreement grants Daiichi Sankyo worldwide and non-exclusive rights to IP that GlycoT currently licenses from UMB and UMCP, and includes an undisclosed upfront payment, annual fees, and adequate royalties of sales to GlycoT.

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Doylestown PA, USA and Abingdon, Oxon, UK, 15 September 2020 – Emergex Vaccines Holding Limited (‘Emergex’), a company tackling major global infectious disease threats through the development of synthetic ‘set point’ vaccines which prime the T-Cell immune response, today announces the determination of a Class I MHC expression library, or ligandome, for SARS-Cov-2 infected cells, in collaboration with George Mason University (‘GMU’), National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, Virginia, USA.

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BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union has agreed to buy a potential COVID-19 vaccine from Sanofi SASY.PA and GSK GSK.L in its second such deal to secure supplies, as a deadline for joining the World Health Organization’s (WHO) vaccine purchase programme looms.

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ZURICH (Reuters) – Drugmaker Roche on Friday said it had received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a test to quickly detect whether a patient has SARS-CoV-2 or one of two forms of influenza

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Maryland is the epicenter of biotech and life science innovation in the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR). The state is home to a burgeoning life science ecosystem, including a rapidly growing cell and gene therapy industry, a robust and growing advanced biomanufacturing environment, and a deep network of leading research universities and critical government life science research entities.

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“5 Questions With……” is a weekly BioBuzz series where we reach out to interesting people in the BioHealth Capital Region to share a little about themselves, their work, and maybe something completely unrelated. This edition features 5 Questions with Tammi Thomas, Vice President, Marketing & Communications at TEDCO.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

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TENANT AMENITIES • Up to 21,400 RSF of office/lab suite available

• Divisible to 9,529 RSF and 11,871 RSF

• Conveniently located between Route 28 and Route 355 in Rockville, MD

• Proximate to other life science companies

• The proposed plans (attached) include heavily improved laboratory space • Emergency back-up power

• Ample surface parking

• Close proximity to Rockville Town Square, containing restaurants, retail, and more

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SR One, a venture capital firm focused on the biotech space, is looking to raised up to $400m for its new fund.

The firm has yet to register any capital for SR One Capital Fund I, according to the latest US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

It is unclear whether the $400m figure on the document is just a target or will also be a hardcap for the fundraise.

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Interactive remarks with the world’s top leaders in innovation and inspiration Plan for up-to-the-moment discussions on global issues including projected outcomes from the U.S. 2020 Presidential election.

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