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The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today announced the teams selected by its Sprint for Women’s Health to receive awards. The agency committed over $110 million to fund solutions for health conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women. This effort will advance the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research and help spur the type of innovation and private sector engagement long needed to improve women’s health.  

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pain assessment in medicine often relies on imprecise visual rating scales featuring smiling or crying faces, frustrating patients and physicians alike. Children’s National Hospital researchers aim to change this with a new device designed to precisely measure pain, backed by an $8-million award from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Sprint for Women’s Health. 
  

FREDERICK, Md., Oct. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Theradaptive, a privately held, clinical stage biologics company developing protein therapeutics for spine, orthopedics, soft tissue repair and targeted immuno-oncology, announced today that OsteoAdapt™ SP  has received the Gold Level Award for Best Technology in Spine 2024 by Orthopedics This Week.

SILVER SPRING, Md. & JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR), a public benefit corporation, and its subsidiary Lung Bioengineering Inc. (LBE) announced that the 500^th lung transplant utilizing LBE’s centralized ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) service was completed last month. These 500 transplants were the result of evaluating over 800 donated lungs using centralized EVLP since 2014.

By: Tammi Thomas, Chief Development and Marketing Officer, TEDCO

The 2024 BioHealth Capital Region Forum (BHCRF) once again solidified its position as the premier gathering for the life sciences industry in the region. Marking the tenth year of the impactful event,  hundreds of industry leaders, government officials, academic researchers and investors were brought together to discuss the latest trends, challenges and opportunities in the field.

A well-oiled collaboration

It takes a village to plan and manage a forum. The BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) Conference planning committee collaborated with sponsors including TEDCO and event management from Taylor Made Experience to ensure an organized, engaging event.

TEDCO’s chief investment officer Jack Miner praised the BioHealth region and forum, noting “This region is probably the most functional in terms of sharing resources, not diluting each other’s efforts…the entrepreneurs really benefit a lot from the collaboration that’s been created in this region, and that’s really unique.”

Richard Bendis, founder, president, and CEO of BHI agreed, stating “We’re proud to have TEDCO as a collaborator who is funding a lot of the early-stage life science companies in the state of Maryland that actually are participants in this event.”

ROCKVILLE, Md. & DEERFIELD, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 22, 2024– MacroGenics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGNX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, and TerSera Therapeutics LLC, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company with a focus in oncology and non-opioid pain management, announced today that they have entered into an agreement in which TerSera will acquire global rights to MARGENZA® (margetuximab-cmkb).

ROCKVILLE, MD – October 21, 2024 – Today, the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) announced the acquisition of Stratix Labs, a microbiology technology company based in Saint Paul, MN. This acquisition marks a significant milestone for USP’s portfolio, as it will expand its microbiological solutions supporting microbial contamination control with broad applications across pharmaceuticals, including biologics and compounded medications.

Microbiological quality control is essential to ensure fundamental contamination control measures are in place during pharmaceutical production and preparation. Increased demand and expedited timelines require the industry to identify and implement new approaches to quality control throughout the drug production process, particularly for sterile products. By acquiring Stratix Labs, USP will be better equipped to help drug manufacturers, developers, and compounding entities address industry gaps in microbial contamination control strategies, mitigating the risk of contaminated products reaching patients.

This article originally appeared in the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation’s (AAMI) new Insights into Innovation series is authored by Kolaleh Eskandanian, Ph.D., M.B.A., P.M.P., vice president and chief innovation officer at Children’s National and principal investigator of SPARK Innovations in Pediatrics, the BARDA Accelerator Network Hub for Special Populations.

October 21, 2024- In the realm of public health and emergency preparedness, one of the most pressing challenges is ensuring that children and special populations are adequately protected. The ongoing global threats—whether pandemics, natural disasters, or acts of terrorism—have highlighted the vulnerability of these groups. Children in particular face unique physiological and developmental risks that necessitate specialized medical countermeasures (MCMs). Yet, the development of pediatric-specific MCMs has long been hindered by significant regulatory, ethical, and financial challenges.

Addressing these concerns, the SPARK Accelerator, led by Children’s National Hospital in partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), is poised to accelerate the development of medical countermeasures tailored to the pediatric population. With a consortium of partners, including BioHealth Innovation (BHI), CIMIT, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, and strategic industry players such as Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS, SPARK is creating a global hub that primarily focuses on innovations for children.

In this episode of BioTalk, Rich Bendis speaks with Dr. Frank Gupton, Co-Founder of Phlow and CEO of the Medicines for All Institute, about his pioneering efforts to improve pharmaceutical manufacturing and global access to essential medications.

Dr. Gupton shares how Phlow is addressing vulnerabilities in the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain by producing critical medicines domestically, and how the Medicines for All Institute is reshaping the way drugs are made by reducing costs and streamlining production. Drawing on his extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Gupton discusses the ongoing challenges of ensuring that lifesaving medicines reach those in need worldwide.

Listen now on your favorite podcast platform:

Apple: https://apple.co/40fndE6 
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3BUBe00 
Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/4hbHYqm 
TuneIn: https://bit.ly/2M60Wmx 

The discussion also touches on the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing, from emerging technologies like continuous processing to green chemistry’s role in creating more sustainable production methods. Dr. Gupton provides insight into how partnerships and collaboration are vital to accelerating these innovations.

Join the conversation to hear about the impactful work being done to transform drug manufacturing and access on a global scale.