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GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) today announced that it has signed an agreement to provide contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services for large-scale commercial drug substance manufacturing for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AZD1222. The agreement is valued at approximately $174 million through 2021 and follows an $87 million contract in June for development services, performance and process qualification, raw materials and an initial capacity reservation.

“Emergent is driven by our desire to advance solutions that will make an impact on this pandemic,” said Robert G. Kramer Sr., president and chief executive officer of Emergent BioSolutions. “Sharing a passion for science, we are encouraged by AstraZeneca’s investigational COVID-19 vaccine and look forward to supporting its continued progress.”

WASHINGTON – (July 22, 2020) – The National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI) announces eight winners chosen in its special COVID-19 edition of the “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition. Focused on innovations in COVID-19-related pediatric medical devices that will improve children’s health care, 16 finalists competed on Monday, July 20 in a virtual pitch event for a share of $250,000 in total grant awards.

Image: Judges award grants for pediatric medical devices that address COVID-19-related needs – https://www.openpr.com

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., July 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Sanford Health, the largest provider of rural healthcare in the country, today announced an $800,000 investment in TruGenomix, a veteran-owned precision behavioral health company.

As part of the strategic partnership, Sanford Health will support TruGenomix by providing its state-of-the-art lab and research capabilities to validate a first-to-market patented blood test for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The genomic test enables earlier identification and improves outcomes for high-risk populations, including veterans, active-duty service members, frontline health care workers, and first responders. 

When it comes to Maryland companies, the pandemic isn’t slowing down venture capital funding.

Data from the latest MoneyTree report by PricewaterhouseCoopers/CB Insights shows that Maryland companies collectively received $358 million in venture capital funding for the second quarter of 2020, marking a big uptick in dollars over the prior quarter even amid a global pandemic and economic downturn.

Image: Looking up in Harbor East. (photo by Wikimedia Commons user Bohemian Baltimore, obtained under a Creative Commons license.)

“Today, we feel forgotten. Everyone believes we still won. The class of 2024 didn’t win. After calls and emails, we’re met with another unyielding reality: we can’t come to campus.”

These are the words of an open letter circulating among international students of the class of 2024 asking for Hopkins to advocate for them.

Last week, the Trump administration abruptly dropped its plans to ban international students taking online-only courses from residing in the U.S. Given that instruction at Hopkins will go fully online following Thanksgiving break, international students at Hopkins would not have been able to return to campus for any portion of the semester had the rule stayed in place. 

Image: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Most incoming international students will not be able to enter the United States this fall.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. and MORRISVILLE, N.C., July 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX), a late-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies (FDB), a world leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for biologics, viral vaccines and gene therapies, announced today an agreement to manufacture bulk drug substance for NVX-CoV2373, Novavax’ COVID-19 vaccine candidate. FDB’s site in Morrisville, North Carolina has begun production of the first batch of NVX-CoV2373.  

GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the Company has entered into an agreement with Vigene Biosciences (“Vigene”) to manufacture AdCOVIDTM, Altimmune’s single-dose intranasal vaccine candidate for COVID-19. Vigene, a Rockville, Maryland-based award-winning Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), specializes in viral vectors and will deploy its capabilities to manufacture AdCOVID. Following recent positive pre-clinical data, Altimmune plans to start a Phase 1 clinical trial of AdCOVID in Q4 2020.

“Vigene is a fantastic partner to advance AdCOVID into Phase 1 clinical testing and beyond,” said Dr. Vipin K. Garg, President and CEO of Altimmune. Dr. Garg continued, “We believe Vigene’s deep experience in viral vector production and their collaborative, client focused approach will help facilitate Altimmune’s timeline for clinical development of AdCOVID.”

Since May, the University System of Maryland has said that remote learning and in-person classes will return in the fall. It recently explained why it is sticking with that model.

“Opting for a hybrid model — combining in-person and remote learning — is, by no stretch, an easy out. It doesn’t save us money, it doesn’t save us time, it doesn’t save us planning. It’s a high-cost, high-effort undertaking,” Chancellor Jay A. Perman said in a statement.

However, it is choosing the model because he said there are students who need the campus environment.

Alexandria LaunchLabs™ in Maryland, will provide fully equipped, affordable laboratory/office space with flexible lease terms, supporting infrastructure, access to amenities, and supporting services and programming through the project’s consortium of world-class partners, including Alexandria Venture Investments, BioHealth Innovation, Montgomery County, and the City of Gaithersburg. This unique, startup environment will accelerate the growth of local early-stage life science companies.

TEDCO, Maryland’s state-backed agency that supports early-stage tech companies, has named Troy LeMaile-Stovall as its next CEO.

Lemaile-Stovall, who is currently COO of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and leads a management consulting firm, will start in the role on Sept. 7. He was introduced at a virtual press conference on Wednesday, where he spoke about leadership in a time that includes a pandemic, economic downturn and a nationwide push for racial justice. While we’re still in the midst of what could be long-term shifts taking place, he said he was “excited about how we move from economic development to economic empowerment for all of the citizens of Maryland.”

Image: Troy Lemaile-Stovall will begin as CEO of TEDCO in September. (Courtesy photo)