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Paragon Bioservices, the leading private equity-backed biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with proven expertise in gene therapy and next-generation vaccines, celebrated this morning the grand opening of its new, world-class and state-of-the-art 200,000 square-foot GMP gene therapy biomanufacturing facility in Maryland’s Anne Arundel County. The event brought together state and regional political and biopharmaceutical industry leaders. Distinguished guests and speakers at the event included:

Is it possible to be successful in business and not fulfilled? The answer is a resounding yes today, and I’m convinced that it will be even more true tomorrow, as young idealistic entrepreneurs try to adapt to the long-standing business culture if success is only measured in the money you make for yourself and your business.

Catalent, Inc. (NYSE: CTLT), the leading global diversified provider of advanced delivery technologies and development solutions for drugs, biologics and consumer health products, and Paragon Bioservices, Inc., a leading viral vector development and manufacturing partner for gene therapies, today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Catalent will acquire Paragon for $1.2 billion.

In mid-November 2018, Amazon grabbed headlines when it announced it will build part of its new headquarters in Northern Virginia.1 The site for HQ2 had been long-awaited after a national “beauty contest.” Amazon decided to place major new office complexes in the Crystal City section of Arlington, which is being renamed National Landing. This will rejuvenate an area filled with office buildings that were developed in the 1970s, and once housed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and various patent law firms that have now relocated to Alexandria.

QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE:QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard:QIA) today announced the U.S. launch of its novel therascreen® FGFR RGQ RT-PCR Kit (therascreen FGFR Kit) as a companion diagnostic to help guide the use of the newly approved FGFR kinase inhibitor, BALVERSA™ (erdafitinib), developed by Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen). The test will aid in identifying patients with urothelial cancer whose tumors have certain alterations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration co-approved the new test with BALVERSA™, as announced today by Janssen.

For a second year in a row, D.C. metro area venture capital funding in the first quarter dropped when compared to the previous quarter. In the first quarter of 2019, venture capital activity in the D.C. metro area totaled $323 million invested in 47 deals, according to data from a recent PwC/CB Insights MoneyTree report.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities is accepting applications for two $125,000 Alexandria LaunchLabs Innovation Prizes for entrepreneurs who can win support for their emerging businesses and a year’s worth of space at the Cambridge, MA, startup facility by showing what the urban life-sciences real estate investment trust says is excellence in early-stage science, leadership, and business strategy.

The uptake of continuous manufacturing, a faster and more flexible production process, has lagged in the risk-averse pharma and biotech industries.

Still, a number of the larger companies have dipped their toes in the water, including GlaxoSmithKline, Vertex, Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly. In addition to its collaboration with CPI, GlaxoSmithKline is working with the Center for Structured Organic Particulate Systems at Rutgers University to expand its knowledge of continuous manufacturing.

Generally speaking the aim of active stock picking is to find companies that provide returns that are superior to the market average. Buying under-rated businesses is one path to excess returns. For example, long term QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE:QGEN) shareholders have enjoyed a 94% share price rise over the last half decade, well in excess of the market return of around 47% (not including dividends). On the other hand, the more recent gains haven’t been so impressive, with shareholders gaining just 27%.

The wisdom of Warren Buffett reflects a value-based philosophy about investing that says investors are buying shares in a business, and encourages strategic thinking about investment time horizon. Before placing a buy order for a stock, a great question we can ask is whether we would still be comfortable making the investment if we couldn’t sell it for many years?