News Archive

Now in its 8th year, the BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap continues to grow, attracting applicants from around the region, country, and internationally. The competition highlights entrepreneurs with commercially relevant diagnostics, medical devices, therapeutics, and other transformative health solutions.

This year’s Crab Trap winner will be eligible for a package of prizes worth more than $50,000. Prizes for the qualifying Crab Trap winner include:

• A $10,000 cash prize from Greenberg Traurig
• A $25,000 cash prize from Montgomery County (for a firm headquartered in Montgomery County)
• A one-year residency at JLABS @ Washington, D.C. (for a firm of their choice)
• $10,000 in Preclinical CRO services from Noble Life Sciences.

MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation® technology and ExPERT™ platform will support Vittoria’s Senza5™ technology to enhance efficacy and improve clinical utility of T-cell therapies.

ROCKVILLE, Md. and PHILADELPHIA, July 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MaxCyte, Inc., (Nasdaq: MXCT; LSE: MXCT), a leading, cell-engineering focused company providing enabling platform technologies to advance the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation cell-based therapeutics and to support innovative, cell-based research, and Vittoria Biotherapeutics (Vittoria), a leading edge, gene-edited cell therapeutics company with novel platform technologies poised to develop a pipeline of highly differentiated cellular therapies for both oncology and immunology indications, today announced the signing of a strategic platform license (SPL) of MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation® technology and ExPERT™ platform to Vittoria Biotherapeutics.

FREDERICK, MARYLAND, July10, 2021: BioFactura, Inc. today announced that CuraTeQ Biologics Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aurobindo Pharma Limited, has entered into an exclusive license to commercialize BFI-751, BioFactura’s proposed biosimilar to Stelara (Ustekinumab). Ustekinumab is a recombinant monoclonal antibody that works by blocking both interleukins IL-12 and IL-23 and is used for treating Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The global drug sales of Ustekinumab stood at close to 10 billion in 2022 presenting a significant opportunity with a good number of indications and a wider use.

Ever wondered how public-private partnerships can make a significant difference in the field of life sciences? Curious about the goals, expected impacts, and timeline of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine (ABBM)? Interested in exploring the transformative potential of the Virginia BioHealth ecosystem and its role in advancing the life sciences industry?

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The National Institutes for Health (NIH) has awarded $4.4 million to a University of Maryland researcher and a colleague to develop both a novel therapeutic and a vaccine approach to address Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is the leading cause of bacterial community-acquired pneumonia and the cause of death for about 1.6 million people annually.

Pneumococcal vaccinations are very effective, but target just a few of the more than 100 different strains of pneumococcus; they’re also unavailable in many developing countries. Additionally, antimicrobial resistance is on the rise globally, and poses a risk of pneumococcal disease that is increasingly difficult to combat.

Expectations are high for combining human and artificial intelligence against health problems.

“Start by determining the problem you desire to solve, then decide on the technology to solve it,” said Subha Madhavan, vice president and head of clinical artificial intelligence/machine learning with global biopharmaceutical company Pfizer. 

Madhavan was the keynote speaker at AI for Pediatric Health and Rare Diseases, an inter-institutional meeting of scientists and innovators co-led by Children’s National Hospital and the Virginia Tech Sanghani Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics to discuss the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to understand pediatric health.

FREDERICK, Md., July 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Theradaptive, a biopharmaceutical firm pioneering advancements in targeted regenerative therapeutics, has been awarded the Manufacturing Assistance Program grant by the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF). The grant will help Theradaptive develop their GMP Manufacturing Facility in Frederick, stimulating economic development in the state and bolstering Maryland’s reputation as a hub of biotechnological innovation.

Theradaptive seeks to significantly improve patient outcomes by producing targeted therapeutics that can be used to coat implants, devices, and injectable carriers. Their proprietary protein-engineering platform aims to provide greater efficacy, safety, and ease of use across multiple clinical indications including orthopedics, immuno-oncology and dental.

Lyell Immunopharma to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation® technology and ExPERT™ platform in its T cell product candidates targeting solid tumors.

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MaxCyte, Inc., (Nasdaq: MXCT; LSE: MXCT), a leading, cell-engineering focused company providing enabling platform technologies to advance the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation cell-based therapeutics and to support innovative, cell-based research, today announced the signing of a strategic platform license (SPL) with Lyell Immunopharma, Inc., a clinical stage T cell reprogramming company.

George Mason University/USDA team find probiotics counter high fat diets in pigs

FAIRFAX, Virginia – According to a new study published by George Mason University researchers Dr. Robin Couch and Dr. Allyson Dailey, in collaboration with researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), showed probiotics may play a pivotal role in preventive medicine.

High fat diets are a leading cause of obesity and can trigger the onset of metabolic syndrome. The research team found that probiotic intervention has significant potential for addressing obesity-related diseases.

Join us on a compelling episode of BioTalk as we sit down with three dynamic leaders from groundbreaking MedTech companies based in the thriving BioHealth Capital Region. These companies, JuneBrain, Xcision Medical Systems, and Sonavi Labs, were recently selected for the prestigious MedTech Innovator Accelerator, the world’s largest accelerator of medical technology companies. Discover their innovative solutions and the transformative impact they are making in healthcare.