BioHealth Innovation Weekly for July 11, 2023

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July 11, 2023

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Building Better Medicine, and Transformative Partnerships: Insights from Joy Polefrone, Ph.D. on BioTalk

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?

Listen now via your favorite podcasting platform:

BioHealth Innovation and Fhi 360 collaborate in developing a Life Science Tech Transfer and Commercialization Center in Sfax, Tunisia

The long-awaited grand opening of the Sfax University Simulation Center has finally arrived, marking a new era of innovative learning and development in Sfax, Tunisia. The cutting-edge center promises to provide a hub for experiential learning, creating a springboard for high-potential projects to flourish. In the run-up to the opening, the team at the Simulation Center, supported by Johns Hopkins University, held a series of fruitful meetings with local stakeholders. During these sessions updates were shared, and attendees were encouraged to submit their high potential projects for consideration, initiating direct engagement with the local community.

Applications to Compete in the 8th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap are Now Being Accepted!

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.

Children's National Hospital, Virginia Tech unite to advance AI for pediatric health

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.

George Mason University/USDA team find probiotics may play a pivotal role in preventive medicine

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.

Theradaptive Awarded Manufacturing Assistance Grant by the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund

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.

MarylandToday: $4.4M NIH Award Supports UMD Research on Enzymes to Combat Pneumonia

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.

BioFactura and CuraTeQ Sign Exclusive License for BFI-751—A Biosimilar to Stelara

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.

MaxCyte and Vittoria Biotherapeutics Sign Strategic Platform License to Advance Next Generation Cellular Therapies

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.

MaxCyte Signs Strategic Platform License with Lyell Immunopharma

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.

BARDA seeks Consortium Management Firm to run new Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle

Responding faster and more effectively to future public health challenges and emergencies will require the development of a specific, rapid acquisition vehicle. To achieve this, BARDA is launching the Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle (RRPV), the next generation of acquisition partnering to support U.S. health security.

In alignment with objectives outlined in the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, BARDA seeks to leverage its Other Transaction Authority (OTA) to develop the RRPV. The RRPV will complement BARDA’s existing acquisition vehicles such as the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) and the Easy Broad Agency Announcement (EZ-BAA) and will expand the mechanisms through which BARDA can rapidly partner with product developers prior to and during an emergency response. With the RRPV in place, BARDA will be able to leverage OTA agreements to meet the dynamic needs of the BARDA mission through a streamlined, expedited process.