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Scott Gazelle, MD, PhD, MPH, FACR Appointed to Board of Directors and Damon Kuehl, MD, FACEP Joins Scientific Advisory Board

RICHMOND, Va. (December 8, 2020) ‐ BRAINBox Solutions today announced the initial closing on a $23 million Series A financing to support the clinical development of the company’s BRAINBox TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) Test to aid both in the diagnosis and prognosis of mild TBI (concussion).  BioVentures Investors led the financing round and was joined by the Tauber Foundation, the Virginia Tech Carilion Innovation and Seed Funds, Genoa VC, Pharmakon Holdings LLC, Astia Angels and additional qualified investors, including Kevin Love, professional basketball player and mental health advocate.  

“The BRAINBox TBI test has enormous potential to significantly improve patient care as an aid to objectively diagnosing and managing the treatment of concussion patients,” said Marc Goldberg, BioVentures Investors Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “The company has made great progress, particularly in this challenging COVID-19 environment, in advancing the development of the BRAINBox TBI testing system, including laying the groundwork for the pivotal, HeadSMART II clinical trial and securing ‘Breakthrough Designation’ from the FDA.”  He noted there are more than five million patients evaluated in emergency rooms annually for mild TBI as well as additional patients in urgent care settings.

TEDCO’s 2019 Entrepreneur Expo took place on October 29, 2019, at The Hotel At The University of Maryland! See what Maryland has to offer entrepreneurs.

Image: https://www.tedcomd.com

Hilden, Germany and Germantown, Maryland, December 7, 2020 – QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) announced today the launch of its QuantiFERON SARS-CoV-2 RUO solution that can detect T-cell responses of the human immune system to the pathogen that causes COVID-19, which could help researchers find out more about immunity levels and disease progression.

Studies suggest that T-cell response to SARS-CoV-2 declines much more slowly than antibody response, which presents several benefits to researchers who want to push beyond the existing detection of active infections to screen for potential courses of the illness and long-term immune responses to it. QIAGEN’s QuantiFERON SARS-CoV-2 Research Use Only (RUO) solution  could be a valuable tool in this research.

Jennifer Doudna PhD, the UC Berkeley biochemist who shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Emmanuelle Charpentier PhD, was the recent guest of honor for the final episode in the “Women in Science” web series, co-organized by GEN and the Rosalind Franklin Society. 

In 2012, the Doudna and Charpentier labs teamed up to publish a landmark paper in which they adapted the CRISPR microbial anti-viral defense system to create a programmable method for genome targeting. The work laid the foundation for CRISPR genome editing, which has become not only a ubiquitous research tool but also applied in clinical gene therapy, diagnostics, agriculture, and many other applications.

Image: https://www.genengnews.com

Join Rich Bendis, Pete Briskman and Ann Rutledge as they Discuss Securitization, Covid-19 and Political Analysis related to the BioHealth industry.

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Nov. 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a late-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, today provided an update on its COVID-19 vaccine program. NVX‑CoV2373 is a stable, prefusion protein antigen derived from the genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus spike (S) protein and adjuvanted with Novavax’ proprietary Matrix‑M™.

“Novavax is in a leading position to significantly contribute to the need for safe and efficacious vaccines that will ultimately end the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic,” said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax. “We continue to make meaningful progress as we work to test, manufacture and ultimately deliver NVX-CoV2373 with unprecedented speed, as well as put partnerships in place that would ensure widespread and equitable access worldwide.”

Four weeks after receiving monitored doses of psilocybin, researchers reported more than half of the study’s 24 participants had achieved remission from their depression.

Late-stage trials showed that AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, which is being manufactured for the United States in Baltimore, was up to 90% effective, the English pharmaceutical company said Monday.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate gives public health officials hope they may soon have access to a vaccine that is cheaper and easier to distribute than those of some of its rivals.

Even though the vaccine still needs regulatory approval, it’s already being made at Emergent BioSolutions’ plant in East Baltimore. The Gaithersburg-based contract drug manufacturer was named AstraZeneca’s U.S. manufacturing partner in June. The partnership was expanded in July and is now valued at $261 million.