Andy

Join us for an engaging episode of BioTalk as we sit down with Lance Kawaguchi, Chief Executive Officer of the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation. Lance’s career trajectory from global finance to non-profit leadership is as inspiring as it is impactful, driven by a personal mission to combat brain cancer following the loss of his mother.

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In this episode, we explore Lance’s journey from senior investment banker to non-profit leader, propelled by personal loss and a vision for change. We delve into the SouthPoleTrek4Cancer initiative, spearheading a global effort to raise awareness and funds for brain and rare cancer charities, culminating in a historic journey to the South Pole. We recognize Lance’s leadership achievements, including ringing the Nasdaq bell twice as a cancer charity CEO, and his success in bringing the GBM AGILE Clinical Trial Platform from the US to Australia, accelerating breakthrough research efforts.

Click here to read the transcript.

Being a university in Washington DC poses interesting challenges, but Georgetown University’s Tatiana Litvin-Vechnyak is determined to turn them into opportunities.

Weirdly, being located at the heart of the US capital doesn’t always help Georgetown University when it comes to creating spinout companies. State universities often have economic development mandates that they can follow, but in Washington DC Georgetown is in something of a vacuum — with little direction for what to focus on, less set funding and fewer people pushing to advance the technologies coming out of the institution.

GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Aiolos Bio (Aiolos), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing the unmet treatment needs of patients with respiratory and inflammatory conditions.

As previously announced,1 the acquisition of Aiolos includes AIO-001, a potentially best-in-class, long-acting anti-thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) monoclonal antibody ready to enter phase II clinical development for the treatment of adult patients with asthma. AIO-001 could expand GSK’s respiratory biologics portfolio to potentially reach the 40% of severe asthma patients with low T2 inflammation (a type of overactive immune response associated with asthma).2 AIO-001 has the potential to be administered every six months due to its high potency and long half-life, which could redefine the standard-of-care.

AstraZeneca today announced the successful completion of the acquisition of Gracell Biotechnologies Inc. (Gracell, NASDAQ: GRCL), a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, furthering AstraZeneca’s cell therapy ambition.

Washington DC: The heart of the BioHealth Capital Region

The BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) encompasses Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C., and more than 1,800 life science and companies are established there. BHCR is among the top-performing biotech clusters in the U.S., with first-class educational facilities, innovative companies, and over 70 federal labs. While the area of Washington D.C. is smaller than Virginia and Maryland where companies are spread across, Washington is still a destination of choice with innovative biotech companies and events. 

The BHCR was ranked third biopharma cluster in the U.S. by Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News behind the San Francisco Bay Area and the Boston/Cambridge area. The criteria to measure the performance of these hubs were the National Institutes of Health funding, venture capital funding, the number of biotechnology patents, the total lab space, and the number of jobs. This region, with Washington D.C. at its heart, is one of the most dynamic in the biotech industry.

Contention over the Bayh-Dole march-in rights provision is in the news again. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) proposes using the process as a “back door” for drug price controls. In comments on NIST’s Draft Interagency Guidance Framework for Considering the Exercise of March-In Rights, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) states that the clause cannot be used for price controls.

First Lady Jill Biden announces funding as first major deliverable from new White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research 

As the first major deliverable of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, 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 ARPA-H Sprint for Women’s Health, which commits $100 million towards transformative research and development in women’s health. ARPA-H, which was created in 2022 as part of President Biden’s bipartisan Unity Agenda, seeks to advance and accelerate health solutions. 

COLUMBIA, Md. (February 21, 2024) – TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced the findings of an independent economic impact study detailing the contributions of TEDCO’s six core programs to the state of Maryland. 

Conducted by the University of Baltimore’s Jacob France Institute, the study found that TEDCO continues to be a significant economic driving force in Maryland creating nearly $2.7 billion in statewide economic activity as of 2023.  TEDCO has invested in or supported the growth of a portfolio of 442 of Maryland’s leading technology companies, more than doubling the number of companies identified in the first TEDCO impact study in 2008.