News

In 2016, during the Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum at MedImmune/AstraZeneca in Gaithersburg, Maryland, an ambitious goal was set: to make the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) a Top 3 BioHealth cluster in the United States by 2023. That vision has been realized in the latest Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News “Top 10 U.S. Biopharma Clusters” rankings, marking a significant milestone in the region’s relentless pursuit of excellence, collaboration, and innovation in the BioHealth field.

Rich Bendis, President & CEO of BioHealth Innovation, Inc., stated, “It’s been an incredible journey working with so many dedicated individuals and organizations in the region over the years to meet this goal. The spirit of collaboration and innovation that defines the BioHealth Capital Region has been the driving force behind this success, and I’m proud to be part of this remarkable community.”

The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) has released its annual Licensing Survey for 2022, revealing promising trends in technology transfer across the United States and Canada. The survey’s findings underscore the significant growth in research funding, the robustness of startup companies, and the evolving landscape of licensing.

U.S. Survey Highlights

In the United States, the survey reported record-breaking research expenditures, topping $91 billion in 2022. This marks a 9.5% increase from the previous year and the highest total in the survey’s 30-year history.

Prime Medicine to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation® technology and ExPERT™ platform to advance their innovative Prime Editing technology and develop a new class of one-time, potentially curative therapies

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 01, 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 partnership with Prime Medicine, Inc., a biotechnology company committed to delivering a new class of differentiated one-time curative genetic therapies.

GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) announced today that it was awarded a 10-year contract by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), valued at up to a maximum of $704 million, for advanced development, manufacturing scale-up, and procurement of Ebanga™ (ansuvimab-zykl), a licensed treatment for Ebola virus disease (EVD).

“For almost 25 years, Emergent has tackled the most serious diseases to assist governments in their preparedness and response strategies,” said Dr. Kelly Warfield, senior vice president, science and development at Emergent. “Ebola virus has the ability to emerge unexpectedly posing a risk to global health. Its elusive nature makes it difficult to predict when and where an outbreak may occur, which underscores the importance of preparedness efforts against this public health threat.”

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, JULY 26, 2023 — RIVANNA®, developers of imaging-based medical solutions, announced that they have received funding totaling $30.5 million over 39 months from early execution of an option by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The funding will support the further advanced development of the Accuro® XV for comprehensive point-of-care musculoskeletal diagnostics as well as submission of an application for FDA clearance.

“Completing our base-stage performance milestones ahead of schedule is a testament to our organization’s dedication and commitment to healthcare innovation,” said Delphine Le Roux, PhD, PMP, Director of Program Management. “As a direct consequence of this accomplishment, the project received early option one funding, expediting Accuro XV’s product development and initial clinical evaluations for FDA clearance. The continued support of our funding partners underscores the strong collaboration built on trust among all stakeholders involved in this effort,” added Le Roux.

Virginia officials recognized AMPEL BioSolutions today for their dedication to identifying, training, and retaining STEM-trained workers, especially in the area of precision medicine.

The annual Virginia Talent + Opportunity (V-TOP) award is given on National Intern Day to employers who provide work-based learning opportunities, particularly to interns, who are essential to Virginia’s economy and play a crucial role in developing the necessary skills for career success, as stated by Kirk Cox, President of VA Bus Higher Ed Council. Internships are the foundation for workforce development.

Perceptive Advisors leads round to execute study in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD)

BALTIMORE, MD, July 26, 2023– AsclepiX Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotech company leveraging computational biology from Johns Hopkins to identify and develop peptides for improved treatments of retinal diseases, announced today that it has secured a $10 million Series A-3 financing. The round was led by Perceptive Advisors with participation from the existing investors Hibiscus Capital Management Fund II and Rapha Capital Management and its managed fund, Rapha Capital PE Life Sciences Fund VI, in addition to a new outside investor.

NORTON, Va. and PETERBOROUGH, ON, July 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ – Solar Biotech Inc., a Norton, Virginia-based provider of complete sustainable and scalable biomanufacturing solutions, continues to build out its vertically integrated organization by acquiring Noblegen, an advanced digital biology company based in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

Noblegen will now operate under the name Solar Biotech Canada, continuing as the organization’s food-grade-certified (SQF9) biomanufacturing and research & development hub in Canada. The new company will leverage both partners’ strengths in microbiology and biomanufacturing to offer revolutionary biotech and synthetic biology (“SynBio”) solutions for a wide range of applications.

SILVER SPRING, Md. & RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR), a public benefit corporation, announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court decision in the patent litigation United Therapeutics brought against Liquidia Technologies, Inc. The Federal Circuit affirmed that Liquidia’s proposed Yutrepia™ product infringes a United Therapeutics’ patent, U.S. Patent No. 10,716,793 (the ’793 patent). As a result, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cannot grant Liquidia final approval for its Yutrepia product until expiration of the ’793 patent, May 14, 2027, except in certain circumstances discussed below.