514th Edition, June 28, 2022

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June 28, 2022

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

BioHealth Innovation is seeking a Senior Life Sciences Business Strategist

BioHealth Innovation, Inc., (BHI) is a regional non-profit innovation intermediary, which facilitates the development of growth-stage biohealth companies by connecting commercially relevant research assets to appropriate funding, management and markets.

JOB TITLE – Senior Life Sciences Business Strategist

Reporting to the Vice President of Economic Development, the Senior Life Sciences Business Strategist evaluates the commercial potential of emerging technologies and provides recommendations on go-to- market strategies. This is a customer facing role with a focus on supporting clients in the development of commercial analyses and federal grant proposals.

The Senior Life Sciences Business Strategist also supervises junior Life Sciences Business Strategists and manages consultants and interns, as needed.

Click here to download a PDF with the details.

How can your BioHealth business benefit from a review by BHI industry experts? Please register for our next Entrepreneur-In-Residence (EIR) day on July 20th and find out. To sign-up for any of the EIR dates in 2022, please follow this link.

These free 1:1 virtual sessions are an opportunity to discuss your company with experts in diagnostics, therapeutics, digital health and medical devices. If you’re a growth-stage biohealth company looking for unbiased advice on your pitch deck, commercialization strategy, evidence development or entrepreneurial challenges, our EIRs can help.

To sign-up for any of the EIR dates in 2022, please follow this link.

2022 Crab Trap Application

Crab Trap 2022 applications are being accepted through August 31st! Entrepreneurs with innovative diagnostics, medical devices, therapeutics, or other transformative health solutions are invited to apply to the 7th annual BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap pitch competition. Finalists for the 2022 Crab Trap competition will pitch IN PERSON on September 21st as part of the BioHealth Capital Region Investor Conference. The winning teams will receive cash prizes from our sponsors.

Applications are due by 5pm on Wednesday, August 31st. Crab Trap finalists will be notified the week of 9/5/22. Mandatory virtual pitch coaching for all finalists will take place the week of 9/12/22.

New Mountain Capital Announces Growth Partnership with Emmes

Partnership to Support Emmes' Next Phase of Tech-Enabled Growth NEW YORK and ROCKVILLE, Md., June 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — New Mountain Capital, a leading growth-oriented investment firm with more than $37 billion in assets under management and Emmes, a global, tech-enabled full-service clinical research organization (CRO) dedicated to supporting the advancement of public health and biopharmaceutical innovation, today announced that they have formed a partnership to support and accelerate Emmes' next phase of growth. Affiliates of New Mountain will acquire the ownership interest of Behrman Capital, the majority investor in Emmes since March 2019, and the ownership interests of Emmes' other investors. The transaction is expected to close in early July and terms were not disclosed.

Emmes is a leading CRO that provides its clients with expertise in biostatistics, technologies and dedicated service required to manage clinical research studies with the highest standards of quality. The company sits at the intersection of the public and private healthcare sectors with clients including biopharmaceutical companies, government agencies, foundations, academic institutions and other non-profit organizations. Emmes is proud to support the research efforts of agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Emmes' five acquisitions since December 2020 have complemented the company's core operations in the greater Washington, D.C. area, Canada and India, while expanding its international presence throughout Europe.

Aledade Raises $123 Million Series E to Accelerate Growth

BETHESDA, Md., June 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Aledade announced it has closed a $123 million Series E funding round to support investments in value-based care for more seniors covered by Medicare Advantage (MA) and innovation that improves patient care and increases medical cost savings, including expanded offerings through its new health services subsidiary, Aledade Care Solutions (ACS). Returning investor OMERS Growth Equity led the round, which also included Fidelity Management & Research Company and other current investors.

Emergent BioSolutions to Acquire – GuruFocus.com

GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (: EBS) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Chimerix, Inc. ( CMRX), to acquire Chimerix’s exclusive worldwide rights to TEMBEXA® (brincidofovir), the first antiviral approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for all age groups for the treatment of smallpox. TEMBEXA was approved in June 2021 and is indicated for the treatment of human smallpox disease in adult and pediatric patients, including neonates.

“The addition of TEMBEXA to Emergent’s portfolio of medical countermeasures builds upon our core capabilities and leverages our long and successful history partnering with the U.S. government to address dangerous public health threats,” said Robert G. Kramer, president and CEO of Emergent. “It exemplifies our thoughtful M&A strategy as part of our 2024 growth plan and positions us better to deliver value for our shareholders.”

Maryland might lose out on a new $1 billion federal medical research accelerator – Baltimore Sun

At his State of the Union speech in March, President Joe Biden urged Congress to fund a new federal agency that would “supercharge” breakthrough medical research and “end cancer as we know it.”

Congress responded two weeks later by approving $1 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, which will tackle projects that are seen as too costly, risky or time-intensive for the private sector and traditional public research.

In Maryland, research institutions, labs, pharmaceutical companies and biotech startups have long had a close, symbiotic relationship with the numerous federal health agencies already located here, but federal leaders and lawmakers think it might be time now for some distance.

Image: President Joe Biden speaks with researchers and patients about ARPA-H, a new health research agency that seeks to accelerate progress on curing cancer and other health innovations, on March 18 in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Vaccitech’s VTP-300 induced sustained reductions of surface antigen in patients with chronic hepatitis B both as a monotherapy – Bloomberg

Vaccitech’s VTP-300 induced sustained reductions of surface antigen in patients with chronic hepatitis B both as a monotherapy and in combination with a single low dose of anti-PD-1

VTP-300 as a monotherapy and in combination with a single administration of low-dose nivolumab was administered, with no treatment-related serious adverse events and infrequent transient transaminitis.

Meaningful, durable reductions of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were seen in some patients who received VTP-300 as either a monotherapy or in combination with a single low dose of nivolumab at the booster dose. Declines were most prominent in patients with lower baseline HBsAg.

All patients who received VTP-300 monotherapy or in combination with low-dose nivolumab and who had a HBsAg decline greater than 0.5 log[10] had durable reductions of HBsAg until the last measurement (up to eight months after last dose).

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. Celebrates the Grand Opening of Alexandria LaunchLabs at Columbia to Accelerate the Commercialization of Novel Translational Science to Meet Significant Unmet Medical Needs

NEW YORK, June 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), an urban office REIT and the first, longest-tenured and pioneering owner, operator and developer uniquely focused on collaborative life science, agtech and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, today celebrates the grand opening of Alexandria LaunchLabs® at Columbia, which was created in a strategic collaboration with Columbia University. As the company's second LaunchLabs site in New York City, Alexandria LaunchLabs at Columbia builds upon the success of the flagship LaunchLabs site at the Alexandria Center® for Life Science – New York City, which reached its fifth anniversary this month. The grand opening event marks an important milestone for the unique and leading life science startup platform purpose-built to accelerate innovation and growth for promising early-stage companies. With over 10,000 diseases known to humankind and less than 10% currently addressable with therapies, Alexandria LaunchLabs at Columbia is playing an essential role in catalyzing the translation of scientific research emerging from Columbia University and other leading NYC academic and medical research institutions into treatments and cures to help meet humanity's massive unmet medical need and alleviate patient suffering.

Image: Alexandria LaunchLabs® at Columbia, located on the Columbia University Irving Medical Center campus. Courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

Emergent BioSolutions Announces Publication of CHIKV VLP

GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced today that two-year persistence data from its phase 2 clinical study evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of the company’s investigational chikungunya virus virus-like particle (CHIKV VLP) vaccine candidate were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The article, Safety and immunogenicity of PXVX0317, an aluminum hydroxide-adjuvanted chikungunya virus-like particle vaccine: a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group, phase 2 trial, is available online.

“Emergent is pleased that results from our CHIKV VLP phase 2 study have been published and shared with the scientific community in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, a highly esteemed peer-reviewed journal,” said Chris Cabell, M.D., chief medical officer and SVP clinical development at Emergent BioSolutions. “Publication of this body of work highlights the importance of developing ways to address Chikungunya disease, a public health threat for which no vaccine or treatment exists.”

Summary of published results This randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, phase 2 study was conducted at three U.S. sites with 415 participants. Eligible participants were healthy CHIKV-naïve adults aged 18–45 years. The primary endpoint was the geometric mean titer of anti-CHIKV neutralizing antibody on day 57 (28 days after the last vaccination). Safety was also assessed.

Maryland Inno – USM creates new pilot program to invest $600,000 in early stage startups

The University System of Maryland this week approved a new pilot program to fund early-stage startups.

The measure, which was approved by the USM Board of Regents on Friday, will allocate $200,000 per year to the Early Capital Pilot fund over three years.

The program will be funded with money currently allocated for the Maryland Momentum Fund, a USM-run venture capital fund that began with $25 million in 2016. The Board of Regents recently authorized an additional $6 million over three years for the program.

Image: The University System of Maryland (USM) approved a new pilot program investing $200,000 a year in early stage startups. Jessica Iannetta/BBJ

NIH seeks industry partners for technology transfer

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the world's largest public funder of biomedical research, investing more than $30 billion in taxpayer dollars. However, what is little known about the agency is that its technologies are available for licensing and collaboration, according to Michael Salgaller, PhD, supervisor of the technology analysis and marketing unit at the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Technology Transfer Center.

The North American Subnational Innovation Competitiveness Index | ITIF

The North American innovation ecosystem is increasingly diverse. In collaboration with Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Fundación IDEA, and the Bay Area Economic Council Institute, ITIF compiled this index to identify economic differences among states and provinces and highlight regions needing more federal attention, identify cross-national innovation performance, and track the continent’s overall competitiveness in the innovation-driven global economy.

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