In the conference room of a spacious loft office near 30th Street Station, Usman “Oz” Azam and Michael Christiano huddle for a meeting. They’re CEO and chief business officer, respectively, of Tmunity Therapeutics, a start-up launched to commercialize some breakthrough research out of the University of Pennsylvania — a method of reengineering a patient’s own immune system cells so they can destroy cancer tumors.
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) today announced that it has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $63 million by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop an antidote spray device for the treatment of known or suspected acute cyanide poisoning. The single-use intranasal spray device will deliver a stabilized form of isoamyl nitrite (SIAN) and is intended for use by first responders and medical personnel following a cyanide incident.
The greatest economic development sweepstakes in the country is underway and Montgomery County officials are hoping the county can be a player.
Amazon is searching for a second headquarters site to house as many as 50,000 employees, at an expected cost of $5 billion to construct. The footprint for the new headquarters would be up to 8 million square feet by 2027 and an initial 500,000 square feet by 2019.
When Knox Singleton first took the helm at Inova Health System in 1984, Mobil Corp. was still building its campus — the first major corporate headquarters ever landed by Fairfax County — on the massive wooded lot just across the street from the health system’s Fairfax hospital.
ConverGene has entered into a Sponsored Research Agreement with University of Maryland, Baltimore. Under this agreement University of Maryland School of Medicine Professor Curt I. Civin, M.D., who is associate dean for research and director of the Center For Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, will investigate the in vivo anti-leukemic effects of ConverGene’s lead drug candidates, CG223 and CG250. Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) is a likely first disease target for these compounds.
The company just received a Series A investment from VSP Global, one of the country’s largest networks of vision doctors.
Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CPP), a private biotech company developing novel therapeutics to prevent cancer and other diseases, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted “Fast-Track” status for its lead drug CPP-1X/sul for adults with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), which is currently in a Phase 3 clinical trial. FAP is a rare genetic disease that if left untreated progresses to colorectal cancer in nearly 100% of patients. Currently there is no effective treatment for FAP.
Flagship Pioneering (fka Flagship Ventures), a Cambridge, MA-based life sciences venture capital firm, is seeking to raise $500m for its latest fund.
Congressional lawmakers from both parties have rejected the Trump administration’s proposals to cut spending for NIH, and have joined forces to increase spending on biomedical research.
Developers Taconic Investment Partners and Silverstein Properties are spending $20 million to renovate the 326,861-sf Movie Lab building in Midtown Manhattan for life science research usage.
