BHI Weekly News Archives

Troy A LeMaile-Stovall, CEO and Executive Director of TEDCO, joins Rich Bendis BioTalk to discuss his background, the local ecosystem, and their vision for the future here in Maryland

Listen now via Apple http://apple.co/3tMsGQ4 , Google http://bit.ly/372QPs5 , http://spoti.fi/3tV2vXI , and TuneIn http://bit.ly/3aOuuzC.

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Are you a 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 here: www.tinyurl.com/EIRfeedback.  These take place by videoconference via Zoom.  Pre-registration and forwarding of a power point deck one week before the session is required. For questions, more information, or to be added to the wait list, please contact BHI.

Please review the available slots below and click on the button to register. Thank you!

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Germantown, MD, February, 9, 2021 – Seraxis, a biotech company developing a cell replacement therapy for insulin-dependent diabetes today announced the successful closing of a $40M Series C private financing round. The financing was led by Eli Lilly and Company, with participation from Frazier Healthcare Partners, Polaris Ventures, JDRF T1D Fund, and other investors.

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GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NexImmune, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel approach to immunotherapy designed to employ the body’s own T cells to generate a specific, potent and durable immune response that mimics natural biology, today announced the pricing of its upsized initial public offering of 6,471,000 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $17.00 per share. The gross proceeds to NexImmune from the offering, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $110 million.

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Luis Diaz, co-founder of PGDx, said the new funding will allow the company to “go out and sell” the cancer diagnostics tech it has been working on for a decade.

Image: Baltimore’s Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDx) has raised about $214 million in funding to date. CARLEY MILLIGAN

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The vaccine was found to generate a robust immune response in animals exposed to the vaccine with strong data indicating safety and efficacy, according to the study published recently in the journal Nature Communications. The results have been used to begin testing the vaccine in human trials in the United States with a Phase 3 trial that recently launched at UMSOM’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD).

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U.S. drug maker Emergent BioSolutions began speeding up its acquisition of drug supplies beginning early last year, as the coronavirus outbreak was erupting in China. In addition to producing drugs like the opioid overdose-reversing Narcan nasal spray, the firm develops vaccines and antibody therapeutics and had scored lucrative contracts for key biodefense medicines over the decades. 

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(Reuters) – Genetic testing specialist Qiagen’s Chief Executive Thierry Bernard said the company is interested in organic growth and “bolt-on” acquisitions, when asked about recent merger and acquisition speculation during a results conference call on Wednesday.

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University System of Maryland (USM) asked members of its community to get creative with approaches to educating the public on COVID-19 safety ahead of vaccination.

Among the top submissions: a puppet show, an action film parody and, because this is Maryland, a crab.

USM, which oversees a dozen public higher education campuses in the state, issued a Public Health Challenge through its research and innovation task force in December. It called for videos and images “to highlight how USM students, members of the broader university community, and all Marylanders can stay safe and healthy while waiting for a vaccine.”

Image: From “Pandemic Puppet Fatigue.” (Screenshot via University System of Maryland)

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The Montgomery County startup is raising new funding — and eyeing an eventual sale of the business.

Image: Sue Carr designed an alternative to the traditional system used for liquid pharmaceuticals. ANDREW BROOKES

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Maryland is now one of only six states with more than one university entity spending $1 billion or more per year on research, according to the latest rankings from NSF.

Image: A large portion of Johns Hopkins University’s total research and development spending can be attributed to the school’s Applied Physics Laboratory based in Laurel. COURTESY OF JOHNS HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY

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GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday listed AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, widening access to the relatively inexpensive shot in the developing world.

“We now have all the pieces in place for the rapid distribution of vaccines. But we still need to scale up production,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, told a news briefing.

Image: FILE PHOTO: A vial of AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is pictured at St. Mary’s Hospital, in Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland, February 14, 2021. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

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Easy to manufacture and update, these new vaccines may be a powerful tool against emerging variants and other infectious diseases

Even the experts were startled by the remarkable success of the two first-of-their-kind messenger RNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech against COVID-19.

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Last month, biotechnology company United Therapeutics began tearing down the historic Elion-Hitchings building in Research Triangle Park, a Mid-Century, Brutalist structure built by the famed architect Paul Rudolph.

While the move was met with dismay from architecture lovers, the demolition could portend a large expansion on the building’s 132-acre property in the coming years.

Image: United Therapeutics currently employs more than 400 people in Research Triangle Park. UNITED THERAPEUTICS.

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Creating university communities of innovation is AURP’s core expertise. And as university innovation communities evolve, AURP announces university innovation community builders’ latest professional development opportunity — Innovation U Virtual Seminars. We’ll be featuring information and knowledge about the latest trends in innovation and university districts — the why, the how-to and “the who is doing it and where?”

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The Port Covington Development Team consisting of lead investors Sagamore Ventures and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, and lead developer Weller Development Company, today announced that financing for the next development phase has been finalized. The capitalization totals more than $650 million, including approximately $137 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) bonds. The closing of the financing marks a significant milestone for one of the largest urban revitalization efforts in the country, signifying vertical construction is underway. In conjunction with the closings, the Port Covington Development Team funded more than $9 million to the South Baltimore 7 (SB7) Coalition, as part of its Community Benefits Agreement (CBA).

Image: https://pc.city/chapter-1b-underway/

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Here’s a look at how Johns Hopkins’ COVID-19 website was created and how it grew visits to more than 38 million in seven months.

Image: https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com

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GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, and SK Bioscience, a vaccine business subsidiary of SK Group, today announced an expanded collaboration and license agreement. In addition to the already existing manufacturing arrangement, SK Bioscience has obtained a license to manufacture and commercialize NVX-CoV2373, Novavax’ COVID-19 vaccine, for sale to the Korean government. SK Bioscience will add significant production capacity under this new agreement. Novavax recently reported positive interim efficacy results for the vaccine candidate in an ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial in the United Kingdom and is also currently conducting a Phase 3 trial in the U.S. and Mexico.

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A key component of America’s ability to innovate is its world-renowned system of higher education, which is the envy of the world. owever, there’s room for improvement. Universities can do more to promote the inventive talents of their students and faculty. Recently, I discussed this potential — and the steps higher education institutions should take in order to realize it — in an interview with Korok Ray.

Korok is an associate professor at the Mays Business School of Texas A&M University and the director of the Mays Innovation Research Center. He’s also the author of the recent National Affairs article, “The Innovative University.”

Image: KOROK RAY – https://mays.tamu.edu/directory/korok/

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Artificial intelligence is often depicted in popular movies and TV dramas as technology that is determined to take over the world. Just a few weeks ago, a new series on Fox premiered, highlighting “a rogue AI with the ability to constantly improve itself that may spell doom for humankind.”

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The Center for Advancing Point of Care Technologies (CAPCaT) in Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Disorders (U54HL143541) announces the 2021 solicitation of grant applications focused on developing, adapting, or validating point of care technologies that can be rapidly applied to heart, lung, blood, or sleep disorders, with additional interest in projects that incorporate complementary and integrative health approaches. We plan, based on the receipt of meritorious applications, to fund up to four awards of up to $100,000 over 12 months, with one or more award(s) focused on complementary and integrative health.

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Johns Hopkins University led all U.S. universities in research and development spending for the 41st consecutive year in fiscal year 2019, spending a record $2.917 billion.

The university’s total R&D expenditure for fiscal year 2019—the most recent year for which nationwide data is available—rose 9.6% from the previous year, according to the annual National Science Foundation report on higher education R&D.

Image: https://hub.jhu.edu

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Baltimore, Md. (Feb. 11, 2020) – The University System of Maryland (USM) COVID Research & Innovation Task Force today announced the six winning teams for its Public Health Challenge. Undertaken with the generous support of several local organizations, the Task Force in mid-December invited members of the USM community to take part in this multimedia challenge, seeking creative ways to highlight how USM students, members of the broader university community, and all Marylanders can stay safe and healthy while waiting for a vaccine.

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Fossilised remains of a fish that grew as big as a great white shark and the largest of its type ever found have been discovered by accident.

The new discovery by scientists from the University of Portsmouth is a species of the so-called ‘living fossil’ coelacanths which still swim in the seas, surviving the extinction that killed off the dinosaurs.

The discovery was purely serendipitous. Professor David Martill, a palaeontologist from the University’s School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences, had been asked to identify a large bone in a private collection in London.

Image: IMAGE: AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT A COMPLETE FISH FOSSIL COELACANTH LOOKS LIKE. THIS ONE IS FROM THE JURASSIC OF GERMAN. view more CREDIT: PROFESSOR DAVID MARTILL, UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH

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Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center President and CEO, Brett Malone, Ph.D., joins Rich Bendis on BioTalk to discuss regional expansion plans, strategic partnerships, and success stories.

Listen now via Apple http://apple.co/3cPyW3t, Google http://bit.ly/3a1kP9m, Spotify http://spoti.fi/3cSwQ2Q, and TuneIn http://bit.ly/3a1kYJW

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 Renée JG Arnold, John Reinhart, Don Rose, and Kwame Ulmer join Diverse Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) Team

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, February 8, 2021 – BioHealth Innovation Inc., (BHI), announces the addition of Renée JG Arnold, PharmD, RPh, President & CEO, Arnold Consultancy & Technology, LLC, John P. Reinhart, CPA, MBA, Co-founder and Board Member of the Thrive Center in Louisville, Kentucky, Don Rose, Ph.D., Special Advisor to Hatteras Venture Partners, and Kwame Ulmer, Principal at Ulmer Ventures to the growing Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) team. The Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program at BHI aims to ensure that disruptive technologies receive all the resources required to transform the technology from a discovery into a commercially relevant product and eventually have a measurable impact on human health. The program was created to support scientists, early-stage startups, and licensed technologies to provide them with access to these resources. These four additions to the team will be working with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), specifically the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Institute on Aging (NIH).

 “I am honored to welcome Renée, John, Don, and Kwame to our EIR Program,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President, and CEO. “Our relationship with NIH is very important and these four immensely talented individuals will help us support our commitment to the NIH and the Biohealth Capital Region.”

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It’s the latest in a series of public offerings for Greater Washington life sciences companies.

Image: John Celebi is CEO of Sensei Biotherapeutics RICHARD PASLEY

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Vigene Biosciences is planning a major expansion in Montgomery County, where it will add up to 245 new jobs by the end of 2025.

A global leader in gene therapy development, Vigene will expand into a new facility to accommodate industry demand for its gene and cellular therapy products. In addition to its existing headquarters, R&D and manufacturing locations in Rockville, the company will lease 52,000 square feet of manufacturing space at 14200 Shady Grove Road, bringing the total lab and manufacturing space of the company to 110,000 square feet. Vigene currently employs 125 workers in the county.

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BALTIMORE, Maryland, February 4, 2021 — RNA Disease Diagnostics, Inc. (RNADD) has secured an exclusive global license to a cutting-edge sensor technology jointly owned by University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). RNADD’s first product will be a rapid point-of-care (POC) COVID-19 test with accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity that is comparable to the gold standard RT-PCR lab diagnostic.

Dipanjan Pan, MSc, PhD and his teams at UMB and UMBC developed the sensor technology, which will be used to support RNADD’s development and manufacture of proprietary molecular disease diagnostic testing kits, enabling the Company to quickly and accurately detect multiple infectious diseases, helping to lead to the prevention of their transmission and spread.

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BLACKSBURG, Va., Feb. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) –Landos Biopharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of therapeutics for patients with autoimmune diseases, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 6,250,000 shares of common stock at the public offering price of $16.00 per share, for total gross proceeds of $100 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by Landos Biopharma. All of the shares of the common stock are being offered by Landos Biopharma.

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Before the pandemic, AstraZeneca was highly regarded in the business and pharmaceutical world – seen as one of the UK’s best companies. Now, thanks to Britain’s successful vaccine programme, it is a household name.

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BALTIMORE and COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The University of Maryland achieved its highest ranking ever in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey for fiscal year (FY) 2019, placing 14th overall nationally and 8th among all public institutions in Research & Development (R&D) spending. For the first time, the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore were linked together as one research enterprise in the ranking, with combined research expenditures of $1.1 billion.

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Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. (ITI), a privately held, Maryland-based biotechnology company, announced today that the company will present at the BIO CEO & Investor Digital Conference, February 16-18, 2021. Chief Executive Officer at ITI, Dr. Bill Hearl, will present a talk titled, “ITI-1000-A Novel Immunotherapy for GBM.” Dr. Hearl will discuss ITI’s investigational UNiversal Intracellular Targeted Expression (UNITE) platform and its application in immuno-oncology, specifically glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). ITI’s technology platform has the potential to utilize the body’s natural biochemistry to develop a broad immune response and is currently being employed in a Phase II clinical trial as a cancer immunotherapy.

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Vari ants to the SARS-CoV-2 virus have emerged of late as yet an oth er threat to a pan dem ic that’s al ready killed over 2.2 mil lion peo ple world wide.

The Covid-19 vac cines al ready on the mar ket have so far man aged to re tain at least some lev el of ef fi ca cy in treat ing new, more in fec tious strains of the res pi ra to ry virus — but con cern about oth er mu ta tions re mains pal pa ble as a slow, churn ing vac cine roll out con tin ues across the globe.

Image: Linda Marbán, Capricor CEO

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The Maryland Business Innovation Association (MBIA) has partnered with the Maryland Department of Commerce to launch the inaugural Maryland Business Innovation Challenge, which will aim to break down barriers and create opportunities for collaboration between Maryland’s corporate and innovation communities.

Betsy O’Neill Collie, senior director of operations and programming for MBIA, said the challenge is aimed at companies looking to “to tap into the kinds of brilliance we have in Maryland.” As opposed to other kinds of challenges, such as startup pitch competitions, O’Neill Collie said this will offer the chance for more direct business collaborations.

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The new funding operation will be led by a pair of investment industry veterans who previously worked at Brown Advisory.

Image: George Petrocheilos (right) and R. Jacob Vogelstein are the co-founders and managing partners of venture investment firm Catalio Capital Management LP. MARK DENNIS

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FRANKFURT, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline and German biotech firm CureVac struck a deal to develop next-generation vaccines against COVID-19 that target several variants in one product.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the partners said they were targeting a possible launch in 2022.

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PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (“Alexandria” or the “Company”) (NYSE: ARE) today announced that it has priced a public offering of $900,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 2.000% senior notes due 2032 and $850,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 3.000% senior notes due 2051 (the “notes”). Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Evercore Group L.L.C., Mizuho Securities USA LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., Barclays Capital Inc. and BBVA Securities Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers in connection with the public offering and BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Capital One Securities, Inc., Fifth Third Securities, Inc., PNC Capital Markets LLC, Regions Securities LLC, TD Securities (USA) LLC and Truist Securities, Inc. are acting as co–managers in connection with the public offering.

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The Association of University Research Parks (AURP), the world’s leading network of research community professionals, invites you to share your knowledge, expertise and experience by presenting at this year’s International Conference.

Important Deadlines to Remember:

• Fri, April 2: Submissions Due 

• Fri, June 1: Notification of Acceptance Mon,
• Oct 4: FINAL Presentations

Due for Review and Address DUE TO VIRTUAL FORMAT, NO EXTENSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED

The name and photo associated with your Google account will be recorded when you upload files and submit this form.

Any files that are uploaded will be shared outside of the organization they belong to.

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The Port Covington Development Team announced last week that four additional companies have joined the roster of businesses located at office buildings City Garage and Impact Village.

The companies are:

• Olive, an AI-as-a-Service company designed specifically for healthcare
• Conscious Venture Lab, an early-stage business accelerator
• LINQ, a managed service provider for corporate cellular communication needs
• CoFactor Ventures, an Opportunity Zone private equity firm investing in local technology companies

Image: https://www.southbmore.com

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At the beginning of 2020, the proposed most profitable businesses to open in Kenya ranged from photography, mobile money shops, travel agencies, cake & snack suppliers, bodaboda riders, printer/computer sales, and garbage collection. However, once it became clear that we would be in the ‘new normal’ for the foreseeable future; winners & losers of the pandemic started to emerge.

The immediate winners were those that experienced performance improvement due to the pandemic. Examples of these have been fin-techs like Mpesa whose revenue moved to top gear once the decree was made to reduce or avoid handling of cash altogether.

Image: https://nairobigarage.com

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When a child is seriously sick or injured, an entire lifetime hangs in the balance. Yet, nationally, funding for pediatric research continues to trail efforts targeted for adults. Children deserve innovation inspired by their needs.

That’s why Children’s National Hospital is creating a one-of-a-kind pediatric research and innovation hub. Located on a nearly 12-acre portion of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus, we will combine our strengths with those of public and private partners who share our vision. Here, breakthrough discoveries can more quickly be translated into new treatments and technologies benefitting kids.

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The Rockville-based National Foundation for Cancer Research is accepting applications through February 28 from academic laboratory and early stage start-up-based promising oncology technology projects for its 2021 Salisbury Award Competition for Entrepreneurial Cancer Research. Top-rated submissions will be invited to participate as finalists in a Zoom-enabled mid-year event judged by a panel of world-class cancer research, technology and investment figures. In addition to increased exposure, insight and access to NFCR’s network, cash prizes totaling $10,000 will be provided to the top three finishers and the winner will be introduced to the AIM-HI Accelerator Fund for consideration of investment. A newly formed spin-off company associated with the 2019 Salisbury Award Competition winning project of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Bert Vogelstein, Emily Han-Chung Hsiue and Jacqueline Douglass is receiving AIM-HI investment. Learn more and apply here: https://www.nfcr.org/salisbury-award/.

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2020 brought about a lot of growth across the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) as dozens of organizations responded with urgency to address the COVID-19 pandemic. With 20% of the world’s vaccine leaders residing in the region, the BHCR has played a critical role in the pandemic response. In Maryland, nearly $8 Billion in federal, private, and foundational funding has been invested in life sciences companies for coronavirus vaccine research and other immunotherapeutic developments.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

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The latest on innovation and entrepreneurship in Maryland

TEDCO’s Rural and Underserved Business Recovery from Impact of COVID-19 (RUBRIC) Program is a $5M economic relief initiative to benefit socially and economically disadvantaged and rural early-stage technology-based businesses hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Amazon has unveiled the design for HQ2, its futuristic new campus in northern Virginia.

The new headquarters will be home to 2.8 million square feet of office space across three buildings and 2.5 acres of public space. The centerpiece of the campus will be the Helix, a glass structure with walking paths winding around the outside of the building.

Image: The Helix at Amazon’s new HQ 2 in Virginia. NBBJ/Amazon

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Thirty-five years ago, there was no Internet as we know it. No Facebook. No Twitter. And no Zoom meetings!

But in 1986 a group gathered in Arizona to form a non-profit international association to advance outreach, innovation, and corporate partnerships through research parks and what would later be called innovation districts. Among those gathered in the Arizona sun were Stanford University Research Park, Arizona State University, Edmonton Canada Research Park Authority, RPI from New York, Research Triangle in North Carolina, Texas A&M, and Central Florida University.

University tech transfer offices were then in their infancy. The Bayh-Dole Act allowing universities to own intellectual property from federally sponsored research had passed only a few years earlier. Few university incubators existed. Entrepreneurship as an academic discipline or interest among student or faculty groups was just beginning. Venture and angel capital was emerging as a financing tool. AUTM had not been formed. iNBIA did not exist. Research parks then had a narrow focus on financial returns from leasing property.

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The move comes less than three years after the Gaithersburg biotech spun out of MedImmune.

Image: Viela Bio CEO Bing Yao, pictured here on the company’s IPO day at the Nasdaq. LIBBY GREENE

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Manufacturing powerhouse Emergent BioSolutions unveiled its seventh COVID-19 CDMO tie-up Monday, this time to help crank out Humanigen’s late-stage antibody hopeful lenzilumab.

Emergent will hustle along fill-finish work on lenzilumab at its Camden plant in Baltimore, boosting supplies ahead of a possible emergency nod early this year. Humanigen’s monoclonal antibody, designed to treat and prevent the immune hyper-response known as cytokine storm, is currently in a phase 3 trial in hospitalized patients, and the company says it expects to file for an emergency use authorization in 2021’s first quarter.

Image: Emergent recently completed a new filling line at its Camden plant in Baltimore, pictured above. (Emergent BioSolutions)

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The move solidifies the company’s local presence about four months after it secured a temporary occupancy permit in September.

Image: Ben Wu is CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corp. EMAN MOHAMMED

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Novavax electrified investors last night by announcing that its COVID-19 vaccine NVX-CoV2373 showed efficacy of 89.3% in the company’s first analysis of data from a Phase III trial in the U.K., where a variant strain (B.1.1.7) accounted for about half of all positive cases.

However, NVX-CoV2373 achieved only 60% efficacy in a Phase IIb trial in South Africa, where that country’s escape variant of the virus (B.1.351, also known as 20H/501Y.V2) was seen in 90% of cases, Novavax said.

“NVX-CoV2373 is the first vaccine to demonstrate not only high clinical efficacy against COVID-19 but also significant clinical efficacy against both the rapidly emerging U.K. and South Africa variants,” Stanley C. Erck, Novavax’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

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Patient engagement platform GetWellNetwork announced it has acquired patient-messaging company Docent Health for an undisclosed sum.

As part of the deal, GetWellNetwork will be able to offer Docent Health’s tool as a combined offering with its other services. The messaging service uses artificial intelligence to message patients about their care. Additionally, its platform is able to collect patient data and, in turn, triage patients and find them the right place of care to seek.

Image: https://www.mobihealthnews.com

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Oxford, UK – Vaccitech Ltd announces that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has today recommended the conditional marketing authorisation of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford with its partner AstraZeneca. Distribution will begin across all 27 member states once the decision is ratified by the European Commission. The vaccine was co-invented by Vaccitech and The University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute.

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THE BIDEN administration announced Monday that it is investing $230 million in Ellume, an Australian company, for millions of its at-home coronavirus testing kits.

The deal, struck by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, ensures 100,000 over-the-counter test kits will arrive in the U.S. starting this month through July, acting Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Andy Slavitt said Monday during a White House briefing.

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Medical device engineering firm, Engenious Design, partners with Innara Health to design the 2nd generation of their ground-breaking technology designed to improve feeding outcomes in premature infants. Prairie Village, KS: Engenious Design, a 39-person creative product development firm specializing in electronic medical device design, has partnered with Kansas City-based start-up Innara Health to develop Innara’s next-generation NTrainer System ®, designed to improve access to more patients by reducing the size and cost of the system, enabling Innara to expand into new markets and provide better access to life-changing therapy and assessment tools for infants.

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The Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus (RIC), the first-of-its-kind pediatric research and innovation hub located in Washington, D.C., now has its first occupant – the Rare Disease Institute (RDI).

The institute, which includes the largest clinical group of pediatric geneticists in the nation, focuses on developing the clinical care field of the more than 8,000 rare diseases currently recognized and advancing the best possible treatments for children with these diseases.

Image: https://innovationdistrict.childrensnational.org/

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Two young pharmaceutical companies are teaming up to bring a sizable new facility and nearly 200 new jobs to Petersburg.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that Civica Inc., a Utah-based drug manufacturing nonprofit, will build a $124.5 million pharmaceutical plant along North Normandy Drive in Petersburg.

Image: The proposed $125 million pharmaceutical plant in Petersburg will total 120,000 square feet. (Courtesy of Phlow)

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Baltimore-based LifeBridge Health is partnering with Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, to launch a new incubator for startup companies developing healthcare technologies and innovations.

The incubator, dubbed 1501 Health, will provide companies participating in the program up to $100,000 in investment as well as access to mentorship and support from payer and provider experts, according to a Jan. 26 news release emailed to Becker’s Hospital Review.

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Wilmington’s Amalgam Rx, a digital medicine and patient support company, has acquired Baltimore-based Avhana Health.

With the acquisition, which closed this month, Avhana’s seven employees will join Amalgam’s 100-member team, which already has a presence in Baltimore. The acquisition is Amalgam Rx’s first. Terms were not disclosed.

Image: (Image via linkedin.com/company/amalgamrx)

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A new “blank check” company created through a partnership between Baltimore venture capital firm Catalio Capital Management and New York investment firm HealthCor Management launched a $180 million IPO Wednesday.

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One of the questions I get asked the most is when I think the world will get back to normal. I understand why. We all want to return to the way things were before COVID-19. But there’s one area where I hope we never go back: our complacency about pandemics.

The unfortunate reality is that COVID-19 might not be the last pandemic. We don’t know when the next one will strike, or whether it will be a flu, a coronavirus, or some new disease we’ve never seen before. But what we do know is that we can’t afford to be caught flat-footed again. The threat of the next pandemic will always be hanging over our heads—unless the world takes steps to prevent it.

Image: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/its-too-soon-start-thinking-next-pandemic-bill-gates/

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The Johnson & Johnson one-shot coronavirus vaccine is expected to be a game-changer in fighting COVID-19 — and it will be made in Baltimore.

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2020 was an interesting year for the biotech industry and the BioHealth Capital Region as we adjusted to continue moving forward during the COVID-19 Pandemic. While the biggest stories in terms of dollars were related to the Coronavirus and funding to create a vaccine in record time, that didn’t stop other biotech companies from working hard to develop their research, science, and/or devices.

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WASHINGTON, D.C., January 29, 2021 – Connected DMV’s COVID-19 Strategic Renewal Task Force held its seventh meeting on Thursday, adopting a recommendation to proactively address climate change through the establishment of a regional Hydrogen Center that affirms Greater Washington as a leader in the hydrogen economy. Task Force members agreed that collaboration across borders and disciplines to tackle climate change, using hydrogen energy, is a national and regional imperative, and by utilizing the significant assets of the DMV region, an achievable goal.

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The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark wake-up call for the United States to take biological threats seriously. The virus is on track to take the lives of more than 400,000 Americans and cost our economy trillions of dollars. The risks of future pandemics increase as technological progress eases barriers to modifying pathogens, raising the specter of novel biological agents causing diseases much worse than humanity has ever faced. Meanwhile, U.S. vulnerabilities to biological attacks have never been clearer to our adversaries.

However, there is a path forward. The Apollo Program for Biodefense would provide the United States the opportunity to mobilize the nation and lead the world to meet these challenges: a world where we detect and continually trace any new pathogen from the source; where we can distribute rapid point-of-person tests to every household in the country within days of that detection; where effective treatments are already in-hand; where vaccine development and rollout occur in weeks rather than years; and where pandemics will never again threaten the lives and livelihoods of Americans and people around the world.

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Georgetown-based Halcyon Incubator has announced the 14th cohort for its incubator for early-stage social impact entrepreneurs. The 18-month fellowship welcomes nine ventures, majority of which are minority-owned, to scale their business models.

Image: Halcyon House in Georgetown. (Photo via Halcyon on Facebook)

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In the race to vaccinate people for Covid-19, everyone agrees front-line health workers, the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions should get priority. But one vital group is being overlooked. Even worse, some are criticizing efforts to vaccinate them as some sort of effort to “cut the line.”

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Recently a colleague asked me to predict the future of pediatric #medicine in 30 years. To help develop my list, I tapped many of the smartest people I know: Leaders from Children’s National Hospital. Here are some of the fascinating predictions.

1) Healing children and keeping them healthy will be an international priority, which is reflected in increased attention and funding for pediatric medicine and #research.

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The lack of reliable access to broadband internet service for many in Baltimore, particularly the poor, has profound economic and social consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this painfully clear with its abrupt shifts to online learning, remote work, and telemedicine. A new analysis from Johns Hopkins University’s 21st Century Cities Initiative says the city could move towards digital equity, with a roadmap of recommendations built on existing knowledge of Baltimore’s digital assets and the experiences of other cities.

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Newswise — Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShieldis partnering with LifeBridge Health to launch 1501 Health, an incubator for healthcare startups. 1501 Health will provide investment and resources to help early-stage companies, located regionally or nationally, develop their healthcare solutions.

Companies participating in the program will receive up to $100,000 in investment and have access to unique mentorship and support from payer and provider experts, along with networking and educational events with other startups, investors and stakeholders.

Image: Healthworx 1501 Health in Baltimore, MD

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Earlier this month we posited the idea that 2021 could be the year of quantum computing-led drug discovery and predicted that partnerships like those of Google and European pharma giant Boehringer Ingelheim would be more common with more quantum hardware makers tying the knot with drug manufacturers.

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Amy Adams with George Mason University. Nikki Hastings with CvilleBioHub, and John Newby with Virginia Bio join Rich Bendis to discuss the new “Virginia Bio-Connect” statewide consortium and scale-Up initiative.

Listen now via Apple http://apple.co/39ZDl0M, Google http://bit.ly/3iRzmHO, Spotify https://spoti.fi/2MqHTVJ, and TuneIn http://bit.ly/2Yelr58. #innovation #biotalk #university #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech #research #biotech

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Wednesday, January 27, 2021

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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A nonprofit is considering Montgomery County as the site of a global pandemic center that would focus on prevention, research and response.

The Global Pandemic Prevention and Biodefense Center would serve as the “world’s epicenter” for pandemic prevention and biodefense ecosystem coordination.

County Council Member Hans Riemer proposed a $500,000 special appropriation to help fund the strategy phase of the project, which began in December. The appropriation was introduced at the council’s meeting on Tuesday.

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The company, which is developing cancer treatments, plans to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market.

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GERMANTOWN, Md., Jan. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Precigen, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGEN) today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 15,000,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $7.50 per share. Precigen has also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,250,000 shares of its common stock. Gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $112.5 million, excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ option. The offering is expected to close on January 26, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

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Recent challenges around preparing, transporting, and administering COVID-19 vaccines have received national and international attention. As part of our ongoing COVID-19 response, the U.S Pharmacopeia (USP) rapidly engaged stakeholders and convened experts to identify and help address operational efficiency gaps to help increase COVID-19 vaccinations.

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Bethesda, Maryland-based Aledade, manager of a tech platform to help healthcare providers join forces to reduce Medicare costs, closed a $100 million Series D funding round. This latest investment round was led by returning investor Meritech Capital.

The tech company plans to use the fresh funding to expand its value-based care model and secure more strategic partnerships with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to benefit seniors. Through MA contracts, the company serves more than 100,000 patients, per a news release.

Image: The Aledade team. (Photo via @AledadeACO on Twitter)

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ROCKVILLE, Md. and CHESTERBROOK, Pa., Jan. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cerecor Inc. (“Cerecor”; NASDAQ: CERC), a biopharmaceutical company focused on becoming a leader in development and commercialization of treatments for rare pediatric and orphan diseases, announced today the exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase an additional 1,648,812 shares of Cerecor’s common stock, $0.001 par value (the “Common Stock”) at a price to the public of $2.60 per share, increasing the total offered through the previously announced underwritten public offering to 13,971,819 of Common Stock and 1,676,923 of prefunded warrants. The gross proceeds to Cerecor from this exercise were approximately $4.3 million, resulting in approximately $40.7 million total gross proceeds from the offering. Cerecor intends to use the proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes and working capital, primarily to support the ongoing clinical development of key assets within its pipeline and for general and administrative expenses.

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In the last four months, this Rockville life sciences services firm has gotten a new CEO, purchased a company and split the business in two to brace for more growth.

Image: Dr. Christine Dingivan took over as president and CEO of Rockville contract research organization Emmes at the end of September. COURTESY EMMES

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Alexandria LaunchLabs™ in Maryland, will provide fully equipped, affordable laboratory/office space with flexible lease terms, supporting infrastructure, access to amenities, and supporting services and programming through the project’s consortium of world-class partners, including Alexandria Venture Investments, BioHealth Innovation, Montgomery County, and the City of Gaithersburg. This unique, startup environment will accelerate the growth of local early-stage life science companies.

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Germantown, Maryland, and Hilden, Germany, January 20, 2021 – QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced its polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests remain accurate and effective in detecting SARS-CoV-2 infections – and will continue to closely monitor their performance as global concerns mount regarding the detection of new viral variants by established testing methods.

QIAGEN has successfully assessed its SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests against genetic mutations of the virus uploaded to the GISAID and GenBank public databases since May 2020. A latest round of assessments conducted in January 2021 again confirmed that no recorded mutations affected the sensitivity of QIAGEN assays for detection of SARS-CoV-2. Surveillance of genetic variations will continue on a biweekly basis.

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FREDERICK, Md – January 26, 2021 – Veralox Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing first-in-class small molecule therapeutics that treat the underlying pathologies of diseases with significant unmet medical needs, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for VLX-1005 for the treatment of heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT).

“We are pleased the FDA has granted Orphan Drug Designation for VLX-1005 for prophylaxis of thrombosis in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia,” said Jeffrey W. Strovel, PhD., Chief Executive Officer of Veralox Therapeutics. “This is a significant regulatory milestone for our company, and in the development of this investigational new drug product and recognition of the clear unmet medical need for patients who suffer from this devastating disease.” “

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University research labs are playing a central role in the development of quantum technologies, such as quantum computers and quantum communication devices. Universities often approach quantum science from a number of angles. Some are good at theoretical approaches to quantum science. Some are strong at applied quantum science. Some focus on the educational and outreach of quantum physics.

Image: Research labs, like this one at the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing, are the heart of the world’s growing quantum industry.

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The moves come after an uncertain period for the Germantown biotech.

Image: Tim Goodnow is president and CEO of Germantown-based Senseonics. JOANNE S. LAWTON

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CIT is conducting a competitive solicitation for young Virginia companies that have strong potential to drive economic growth in Virginia, including revenue and job creation, in strategically important industry sectors. The CCF FY21 round will provide grants up to $100,000 to advance companies and their highly promising technologies that have seen traction, for instance through revenue and/or investment, and would be catalyzed by support to commercialize the technologies or access the market. Up to $7 million has been allocated for the single FY21 round. Projects are anticipated to be 6-12 months and CCF funding can supports companies’ commercialization goals through product or service development, pilots, intellectual property protection, marketing, and more.

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For too long, the face of skincare has reflected only SOME of the faces we see within our communities. We know there are a lack of consumer products available tailored to the needs of the Black community.

As the world’s largest healthcare company, Johnson & Johnson recognizes and embraces our responsibility for enacting change. Within our consumer business, our products must reach, have a positive impact on, and most importantly, serve everyone. Looking to the future of healthcare, we must seek out and support innovators from diverse backgrounds in order to generate inclusive solutions.

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The number of changes being implemented by the new administration in the White House are likely too many to count. And while many are significant, one strikes a chord with the scientific community in a very meaningful way. In the days leading up to his inauguration, President Biden made it clear that science is a priority. He has backed that up with several recent announcements.

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EDA is pleased to announce today that seven organizations from across the United States have been awarded a total of $2 million in grants through the inaugural STEM Talent Challenge, which aims to boost local science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) talent.

Grant projects are building STEM workforce readiness while fueling innovation and entrepreneurship in emerging and transformative sectors, such as space commerce, aeronautics, digital manufacturing, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and cybersecurity. Click here for more about each project.

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Ronald T. Piervincenzi, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, United States Pharmacopeia virtually sits down with Rich Bendis to discuss the over 200 year old Organization, the services they offer, and their goals for the future.

Listen now on Google http://bit.ly/2NjX8As, Apple http://apple.co/3irukRQ, Spotify http://spoti.fi/35UfM8B, and TuneIn http://bit.ly/2XRFEgD.

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Amalgam Rx, Inc., a leading Digital Therapeutics and Patient Support company, announces the acquisition of Avhana Health, a privately held clinical decision support (CDS) company, which has deep integrations with the leading electronic health records (EHR). Amalgam Rx will expand Avhana’s CDS tools to multiple therapeutic areas and combine them with other digital solutions to simplify doctors’ workflows.

Avhana Health is a CDS company used by doctors to support real-time adoption of and adherence to clinical quality guidelines. Avhana’s SaaS-based CDS tool has been implemented in more than 150 provider groups and identifies over $120 million a year in cost savings. Enabling real-time two-way interactions within the EHR, Avhana optimizes provider workflow beyond simple data integration.

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The latest funding comes on top of $61.3 million in new funding the local biotech raised in April.

Image: Bill Hearl is CEO and founder of Immunomic Therapeutics in Rockville. COURTESY IMMUNOMIC THERAPEUTICS

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Wednesday, January 27, 2021

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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More often than not, girls in developing countries either cannot afford or do not have access to menstrual products. This makes it extremely difficult for them to go about their day, particularly if they are in school. Flo is a menstrual product that allows the user to wash, dry and carry a reusable menstrual pad with dignity. The concept was developed by Mariko Higaki Iwai. The Flo menstrual kit was designed with the following issues in mind:

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GAITHERSBURG, MD – January 18, 2021 – NexImmune today announced the appointment of Dr. Robert (Bob) Knight as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Knight is a seasoned executive with extensive experience leading early- and late-stage immunotherapy product development teams. Prior to joining NexImmune, Dr. Knight led the Yescarta® clinical program at Kite Pharmaceuticals (a Gilead Company) and, prior to that, spent 16 years at Celgene Corporation as a Vice President in Clinical Research. During his tenure at Celgene, he helped lead the development of the company’s IMiD and targeted therapy programs, including thalidomide, lenalidomide, and enasidenib. In addition to his roles at Kite and Celgene, Dr. Knight also led the cancer immunotherapy development program at Sorrento Therapeutics as the company’s Senior Vice President and Head of Clinical Research.

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After a bitter battle with Democratic lawmakers last year, the Department of Commerce is looking to alter the biotech, cybersecurity and research and development tax credits.

Image: Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz wants the legislature to pass four bills that would alter tax credit programs including the cybersecurity and biotechnology tax credits. ERIC STOCKLIN

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GAITHERSBURG, MD – January 19, 2021 – NexImmune, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel approach to immunotherapy designed to employ the body’s own T cells to generate a specific, potent, and durable immune response that mimics natural biology, today announced the appointment of Grant Verstandig to its Board of Directors.

“We are delighted to welcome Grant to the NexImmune Board,” said Sol Barer, PhD, Chairman of NexImmune’s Board of Directors. “Grant is a recognized innovator and leader in the evolving fields of digital health and artificial intelligence (AI). We believe that better understanding the intersections of biology, big data and artificial intelligence is a clear trend in our industry and will greatly help the Company design, implement and collect outcomes on clinical trials that may truly transform the way we develop novel therapeutics. We look forward to working with him as we continue the development of our product candidates and technology platform.”

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With a phase 3 data readout on its COVID-19 vaccine looming, Novavax has already started stockpiling doses ahead of an authorization. Now, thanks to a fresh manufacturing tie-up, the company’s ex-U.S. supplies just got a little more secure.

Novavax tapped Baxter BioPharma Solutions to handle commercial-scale vaccine manufacturing at its facility in Halle, Germany. Once production work kicks off, Baxter will be on deck to crank out supplies for the European and U.K. markets, the companies said.

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SILVER SPRING, Md. and RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Jan. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR) today announced that results from the INCREASE clinical study of Tyvaso® (treprostinil) Inhalation Solution for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD) have been published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Results from INCREASE, the largest and most comprehensive completed study of adult patients with PH-ILD, showed that treatment with inhaled Tyvaso was well tolerated and improved the exercise capacity measure of six-minute walk distance (6MWD) by 31 meters relative to placebo at Week 16 (p

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A key lesson we can learn from Warren Buffett, is about how to think about a potential stock investment in the context of a long-term time horizon. Every investor in a stock has a choice: bite our fingernails over the short-term ups and downs that are inevitable with the stock market, or, zero in on stocks we are comfortable to simply buy and hold for the long haul — maybe even a twenty year holding period. Heck, investors can even choose to completely ignore the stock market’s short-run quotations and instead go into their initial investment planning to hold on for years and years regardless of the fluctuations in price that might occur next.

Image: Photo credit: commons.wikimedia.org

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The pandemic changed everything. We live differently, behave differently, and have come to appreciate the little things we might have taken for granted before COVID-19 took hold in the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR).

We saw a move to nearly 100% remote work within the life sciences industry, companies pivoting to join the fight against SARS-CoV-2, and telemedicine finally earning more widespread acceptance and usage. The region became an epicenter for COVID-19 vaccine development and funding, requiring a host of companies to recruit and hire new talent to support the fight against the pandemic while also advancing their own pipelines.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

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Join MCEDC and the FLC for a free virtual seminar. Learn about proposed policies for obtaining federal R&D funding, licensing federal technologies and accessing federal resources. The Department of Commerce has proposed new rules and legislation to provide extended protection for proprietary information, allow the licensing of government produced software, authorized more flexible grant terms – and more.

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Venture capitalists invested $1.159 billion into Maryland companies, according to data from the MoneyTree Report by PwC/CB Insights. It marks the third-highest VC dollar total in a year since 2000, and the highest since 2001.

The funding was invested over 79 deals that included a pair of megadeals over $100 million, which typically drive yearly totals up.

“Maryland not only had a good year in 2020 but the upward trend in funding over the last 20 years in Maryland is quite encouraging as well,” said Brad Phillips, a director in PwC’s emerging company services practice.

Image: (Photo by Flickr user Austin Kirk, used under a Creative Commons license)

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The Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) at the NIH will host a Virtual Open House on Monday, March 1 for its online Spring 2021 Academic Programs, including the several courses for its “Advanced Studies in Technology Transfer Program”. The Advanced Studies in Technology Transfer is a low-cost, open enrollment program with class credits transferable into various university graduate degree programs. Online registration for these classes is now open:

Online Courses

• TECH 514 | Technology Transfer: Transitions, Processes, and Players (Starts March 22)
• TECH 540 | Introduction to Life Sciences Licensing (Starts March 22)
• TECH 566 | Building a Biotech Company: Business Leadership and Management Strategies (Starts March 22)
• TECH 582 | Intellectual Property and Patent Prosecution for Scientists (Starts March 22)
• TECH 607 | Capstone Course in Technology Transfer (Starts February 1 and March 22)

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Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first over-the-counter (OTC) fully at-home diagnostic test for COVID-19. The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test is a rapid, lateral flow antigen test, a type of test that runs a liquid sample along a surface with reactive molecules. The test detects fragments of proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from a nasal swab sample from any individual 2 years of age or older. 

“Today’s authorization is a major milestone in diagnostic testing for COVID-19. By authorizing a test for over- the-counter use, the FDA allows it to be sold in places like drug stores, where a patient can buy it, swab their nose, run the test and find out their results in as little as 20 minutes,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. “As we continue to authorize additional tests for home use, we are helping expand Americans’ access to testing, reducing the burden on laboratories and test supplies, and giving Americans more testing options from the comfort and safety of their own homes.” 

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Maryland’s growing companies raised a record $1.16 billion in VC dollars last year.

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The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) announced that United Therapeutics will sponsor the PFF Registry.

The Registry is a research resource that tracks clinical data, samples, and patient-reported outcomes from people living with pulmonary fibrosis in the U.S.

According to the PFF, United Therapeutics’ sponsorship of the Registry will aid researchers who are working to develop better treatments for people with pulmonary fibrosis and secondary pulmonary hypertension (PH, when the blood pressure in the lungs is abnormally high).

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The days are long, but the years are short.” This bittersweet saying, which is often shared with new parents, may apply to everyone who has been living through the COVID-19 pandemic—although what we’re experiencing is almost entirely bitter and not at all sweet. Over the past 12 months, SARS-CoV-2, an RNA virus that carries a mere 29,903 nucleotides, has devastated our communities, disabling economies and taking far too many lives. However, as we hit the grim one-year anniversary of COVID-19, we may anticipate a measure of relief.

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A significant volume of new M&A deals during 2021 are expected to involve cell and gene therapy developers as in recent years—but with an emerging twist resulting from some recent clinical disappointments for autologous treatments . . .

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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the public health emergency surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic until April, extending key waivers for regulations on a variety of topics such as telehealth.

The public health emergency declaration was originally scheduled to expire Jan. 21. HHS Secretary Alex Azar extended the emergency Thursday, according to a notice.

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In this article, we are going to list the 15 largest vaccine companies in the world. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 5 largest vaccine companies in the world. Vaccination is the most simple and effective way of prevention of many diseases. It provides immunity to infectious diseases and it is the most cost-effective method to protect the world population. The first-ever vaccine was introduced for smallpox to treat the deadly cowpox virus in 1796. This virus killed many people and developing a vaccine for it saved many lives. But the concept of vaccines existed even before 1796. Pharmaceutical companies around the globe have worked to develop vaccines for diseases such as Malaria, HIV, cholera, influenza and tuberculosis.

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Alexandria Real Estate Equities has announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase 401 Park Drive and 201 Brookline Ave. from Samuels & Associates for $1.5 billion. The office and research campus is located in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood and will include 1.8 million square feet of rentable space.

The 401 Park property was built in 1928 as a Sears, Roebuck and Co. distribution center and is home to a number of office and life science tenants. It is 93% occupied across 973,000 rentable square feet. The property is on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a retail and restaurant hub. The property at 201 Brookline is a 510,000-square-foot, 14-story office and lab development currently under construction with an estimated completion date of next year.

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