468th Edition, August 10, 2021

Jeff Galvin, CEO of American Gene Technologies and Rich Bendis, CEO and President of BioHealth Innovation, Inc. have a fireside chat about the rapid evolution of the BioHealth Capital Region.

You can also listen to the audio only version via Apple https://apple.co/37wc6Kk, Google https://bit.ly/2XbLe0v, Spotify https://spoti.fi/3yCWhxE, and TuneIn https://bit.ly/3AqYkoR.

Click here to view the video interview between Jeff and Rich.

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ROCKVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 4, 2021– GlycoMimetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLYC) today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Harout Semerjian as chief executive officer (CEO), effective August 6, 2021, to succeed retiring Founding CEO Rachel King. Mr. Semerjian, a seasoned executive with strong oncology commercialization experience, will lead the company as it advances its registrational trials on its lead clinical candidate, uproleselan, in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), accelerates planning for potential commercialization, and continues to build out the company’s pipeline.

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Paul Rennie OBE, Counsellor for Global Issues in the Global Economy Group at the British Embassy, Washington DC, and Professor Jason Snape, Head of Environmental Protection within AstraZeneca’s Global Sustainability Team, join Rich Bendis to Discuss Life Sciences, Climate Change, COP26 – UN Climate Change Conference, and The Race to Zero Campaign.

Listen now via Apple https://apple.co/3ls3EEp, Google https://bit.ly/3liTlSU, Spotify https://spoti.fi/3ylxair, and TuneIn https://bit.ly/3rS9Giz.

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Are you a biohealth start-up in Maryland, DC or Virginia seeking feedback on your biohealth business idea, pitch deck, or commercialization plan? Schedule your feedback session with BHI EIRs on one of the following dates. Pre-registration is required; Sign up here tinyurl.com/EIRfeedback

For questions/more information, contact BHI.

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ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Sands Capital held a first and final closing of its second life sciences dedicated fund, Sands Capital Life Sciences Pulse Fund II, L.P. (“Pulse II”), raising $560 million. This close increases total Pulse Strategy assets under management to more than $950 million, including Sands Capital Life Sciences Pulse Fund, L.P. (“Pulse I”) and related vehicles. The team will continue investing with the same emphasis on private therapeutics, diagnostics, and life sciences tools businesses. The strategy’s mission is to help transform how diseases are defined, diagnosed, and treated.

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GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is allowing Emergent’s Bayview manufacturing facility to resume production of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) Covid-19 vaccine bulk drug substance. This resumption of manufacturing follows extensive reviews by FDA, weeks of diligent work, and close coordination with J&J and FDA to execute on Emergent’s quality enhancement plan.

“We are proud to be resuming production of bulk Covid-19 vaccine batches following additional reviews and collaboration with FDA and our manufacturing partners,” said Emergent chief executive officer, Robert Kramer. “We are in the unique business of producing life-saving medications for catastrophes that we hope never occur like anthrax attacks, opioid overdoses, and Covid-19.”

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Quantum Startup Foundry (QSF) at the University of Maryland (UMD) today announced that Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) is a founding member of the QSF and will help the foundry advance its mission of accelerating leading-edge quantum technologies and driving the second quantum revolution.

EY is the first professional services firm and overall organization to work with the foundry on programs that connect the virtual and physical resources needed to support quantum entrepreneurs and startups. Additionally, EY will provide insight, mentorship, customer and investor introductions, and other services to companies cultivated through the QSF.

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The Bacteriophage (Phage) Therapy (PT) market is growing rapidly in the U.S. The rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria and multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDRs) across the globe has increased the value and industry acceptance of a phage approach, which can help combat bacteria that cannot be effectively treated by antibiotics. What’s more, the phage modality is a great fit for targeted personalized medicine approaches.

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Hospitals and health systems across the U.S. are pushing forward digital transformation efforts by creating new tools and launching innovative programs. 

Here are the organizations that announced pilots of new innovation programs or expansions to existing programs during June and July, as reported by Becker’s Hospital Review.

1. Worcester, Mass.-based UMass Memorial Health expanded care beyond hospital walls with the recent rollout of its tech-powered hospital-at-home program. 

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The FAES Academic Programs at NIH offers a unique Advanced Studies in Technology Transfer to persons with a Bachelor’s degree in science or engineering or a related field. Courses are offered in the evenings, making it convenient for working professionals and postgraduate Fellows to gain expertise and experience in patenting, licensing, collaborative agreements, and other fundamental intellectual property transactions. The technology transfer profession field employs more than 10,000 professionals in the U.S., with many practicing their trade in the greater Washington, D.C. metro area.The course instructors are leading practitioners in the field, so students can simultaneously gain the necessary knowledge and build professional networks.

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A leader from the company says to ensure medicines keep reaching the patients that need them, the industry must revamp outdated technologies and techniques. People both inside the pharmaceutical industry and outside share many common concerns about the state of the pharma supply chain. Interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, global unrest, severe weather catastrophes, and other events stand to disrupt the supply of essential ingredients and products; these challenges have pharma professionals, government leaders, and others looking for ways to shore up the supply chain and avoid interruptions.

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GAITHERSBURG, MD, 9 August 2021 – MaxCyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXCT) (LSE: MXCT, MXCN), a leading provider of cell-engineering platform technologies, today announced the signing of a clinical and commercial license with Sana Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: SANA), a company focused on creating and delivering engineered cells as medicines.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sana Biotechnology obtains non-exclusive clinical and commercial rights to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation® technology and ExPERT™ platform. In return, MaxCyte is entitled to receive platform licensing fees and program-related milestone payments.

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