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The BioHealth Capital Region (Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.) has successfully retained its position as the #3 biopharma cluster in the U.S. for 2024. This impressive ranking underscores the region’s ongoing strength in innovation and investment, highlighted by major expansions and investments from leading companies and institutions. Despite facing some challenges, the region continues to lead in patents, NIH funding, and lab space.

From 

Alex Philippidis’ remarks:

The BioHealth Capital Region has generated enough positive news to retain the number-three ranking it earned and celebrated last year. QIAGEN and Frederick County, MD, officials on July 12 announced completion of a 40,000-square-foot expansion of the company’s Frederick, MD, facility, creating a 75,000-square-foot site focused on next-generation sequencing, genomics, clinical healthcare, and forensics. AstraZeneca is investing $300 million in a new manufacturing facility in Rockville, MD, with plans to create 150 new jobs when the site opens in 2026. Across the state line, The University of Virginia is constructing the $300 million Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology in Charlottesville; named for chairman and CEO of PBM Capital and his wife.

RNA therapies developer miRecule is partnered with Sanofi on the development of a treatment for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD. MiRecule, winner in the biopharma track of MedCity News’s Pitch Perfect startup competition, is now pursuing a Series A round of financing.

For biotech companies with platform technologies, one common goal is finding a big pharmaceutical partner interested in jumping onto that platform sooner or later. For miRecule, the collaboration came sooner. Within four years of its formation and still preclinical, the startup found itself working with Sanofi to develop an RNA therapy for a rare muscle disorder.

Chicago, May 2024 — miRecule, a cutting-edge startup focused on developing antibody RNA conjugate therapeutics, clinched the top spot at the prestigious MedCity INVEST Biopharma track competition held at the Ritz Carlton in Chicago. The event, presented by MedCity News and the Mid-America Healthcare Investors Network (MHIN), brought together active investors and promising entrepreneurs from the healthcare industry.

miRecule’s innovative approach to personalized RNA therapeutics captured the attention of venture capital judges, who recognized the company’s potential to revolutionize healthcare.

Maryland-based biopharmaceutical company receives funding from TEDCO’s Venture Funds’

COLUMBIA, Md., (July 23, 2024) — TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent $500,000 investment in Solaxa Inc. This investment is from TEDCO’s Venture Funds, with $200,000 being allocated from the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funding.

“At Solaxa, we are developing neurorestorative treatments for children and adults suffering from rare neurodegenerative diseases and acute nerve injuries,” said Christian Walker, CEO and founder of Solaxa. “Thanks to TEDCO’s investment, we can accelerate our work to serve patients with spinocerebellar ataxias for whom our first drug has already been shown to deliver significant clinical improvement in gait, balance and speech.”

On July 25, 2024, the FDA will host a significant virtual public meeting, “Home as a Health Care Hub – Stakeholder Listening Session,” from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET. This session aims to explore how integrating home environments into the healthcare system can enhance health equity and patient care. The FDA seeks input from various stakeholders to identify both barriers and opportunities in this integration. Additionally, the initiative includes developing VR prototypes for managing conditions like diabetes.

Stakeholders are encouraged to register, participate, and submit comments or presentations ahead of the event.

For more information and registration details, Click here.

GERMANTOWN, Md., July 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Precigen, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGEN), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative gene and cell therapies to improve the lives of patients, today announced the appointment of Phil Tennant as the Company’s chief commercial officer. Mr. Tennant will be responsible for commercial strategy and execution across US and global markets. His initial focus will be on driving commercial readiness activities for the potential launch of the first- and best-in-class PRGN-2012 AdenoVerse gene therapy in recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). Mr. Tennant will report to Precigen’s President and CEO, Helen Sabzevari, PhD, and will join Precigen’s executive leadership team.

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Emmes Group, a leading specialty tech-enabled global contract research organization (CRO), today announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Miimansa AI. A critical pillar of the partnership, aimed at revolutionizing clinical research at Emmes, is the acquisition of Miimansa’s Clinical Entity Modeling tools based on advanced large language modeling (LLM) techniques and generative AI.

Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to transform all aspects of healthcare including clinical research. Emmes Group is rapidly maturing its technology platform, Veridix AI, and Miimansa’s Clinical Entity Modeling technology will serve as a critical building block to accelerate the development of state-of-the-art automated text processing solutions tailored for clinical research.

In the rapidly evolving world of life sciences, the real estate sector is experiencing significant shifts and opportunities. JLL’s latest report, U.S. Life Sciences Property Report, explores the dynamics of leasing, occupancy rates and market conditions.

To learn more about the life sciences market in Washington, D.C., we sat down with local experts, JLL Research Manager Kate Paine and Executive Managing Director Pete Briskman to delve deeper into these trends and gain valuable insights.

In the D.C. market, how have lease terms in the life sciences sector changed over time and what factors have influenced these changes?

Mirroring national leasing trends, lease terms in the D.C. market are shortening, especially among new leases and relocations. The average lease term for new leases (non-renewals) has fallen to just over five years, down from nearly 10 years in 2022. Shortening of lease term is a response to supply outpacing demand, which is giving the leverage back to tenants and allowing startups and pre-revenue tenants to negotiate for shorter terms. A key contributor to shortening lease terms over the past few years is the influx of spec suites that have delivered to the market, which are designed to be flexible space options for early-stage companies.