ROCKVILLE, Md., May 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmes (the "Company"), a global, full-service Clinical Research Organization (CRO) dedicated to supporting the advancement of public health and biopharmaceutical innovation and a portfolio company of Behrman Capital, today announced that it has acquired Orphan Reach, a CRO specialized in clinical research related to rare diseases. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Set on the historic Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus will be a one-of-kind innovation hub. The nearly 12-acre campus will house leading entrepreneurs, thinkers, innovators and experts aiming to improve the health and well-being of patients around the world. Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS @ Washington, DC will occupy a 32,000—square foot facility open to biotech, medical device, consumer and health technology start-ups aiming to develop new medicines, medical devices, precision diagnostics and health tech applications. Additionally, in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a component of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, JLABS @ Washington, DC will be the hub for BLUE KNIGHT. Blue Knight is a collaboration dedicated to and aimed at anticipating health security threats, activating the global innovation community, and amplifying technological advancements to prepare for and respond to our rapidly evolving global health environment. We look forward to the opening of JLABS @ Washington, DC in collaboration with our partners at Children’s National Hospital and BARDA to support innovation for patients.

GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Adaptive Phage Therapeutics (APT), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to providing therapies to treat infectious diseases, today announced that the company has closed a $40.75 million Series B investment round led by Deerfield Management Company. Also joining the Series B round are existing investor Mayo Clinic and an additional undisclosed institutional investor. Proceeds of this financing will be used to accelerate clinical development of PhageBank™ phage therapies, as well as for general corporate purposes.

By 2022, Frederick County will see an estimated 1,500 new jobs after diagnostics solutions company Ellume moves in.

The Australian-based company, which makes at-home COVID-19 tests, is set to open its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Frederick, county officials announced Monday.

The 180,000-square-foot facility in the Progress Labs Corporate Park off Md. 85 will be home to the plant.

Ellume, an Australian company specializing in diagnostics solutions for infectious diseases, is set to open its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Frederick, county officials announced Monday.

The 180,000-square-foot facility in the Progress Labs Corporate Park off Md. 85 will serve as a manufacturing plant, where Ellume will make at-home COVID-19 tests and bring an estimated 1,500 jobs to Frederick County by 2022. 

“This is great news for Frederick County,” Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner said in a news release. “Ellume is on the cutting edge, making products that will help the world to overcome this health pandemic. We are excited to welcome Ellume to our thriving life science and biopharma family."

Image: Courtesy photo via ellumehealth.com

Maryland’s biohealth boom continues, with Australian bio company Ellume announcing its entrance in the United States. Ellume, a Queensland digital diagnostics company, recently signed a $231.8 million agreement with the federal government to accelerate domestic production of its COVID-19 home tests. The company will establish a manufacturing facility in Maryland, its first in the United States, to accommodate the demand for its products targeting infectious diseases. 

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, May 10, 2021 – BioHealth Innovation Inc. (BHI) announces the addition of Dr. Natsumi Takahashi-Vitiello, PhD in the role of Analyst. In her new position, Dr. Takahashi-Vitiello will assist the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) Program at BHI in the evaluation of early-stage technologies, strategic planning for start-up companies, and identification/developmental strategies of new venture opportunities.

 “I am pleased to welcome Dr. Natsumi Takahashi-Vitiello to the BHI family,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President, and CEO. “Her biohealth business experience and scientific background will support the BHI clients in their commercialization and fund-raising activities.”

Rich Bendis welcomes Dr. Anne Khademian, Executive Director, The Universities at Shady Grove, on BioTalk to discuss Higher Ed in Montgomery County, their Biomedical Sciences and Engineering (BSE) facility, and Strategic Partnerships.

Listen now on Apple https://apple.co/3xYZG9P , Google https://bit.ly/3eyQ6mm, Spotify https://spoti.fi/3o4vztl, and TuneIn https://bit.ly/2SHbI7N.

Dr. Anne Khademian was named to serve as the Universities at Shady Grove’s third executive director in October 2020, following a nationwide search and her appointment to the post by Dr. Jay Perman, Chancellor of the University System of Maryland. As executive director of USG – a regional higher education center of USM in Montgomery County, with programs from nine universities on one campus – Dr. Khademian also holds the title of Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for USM.

Aziyo Biologics Inc. is executing growth plans it established ahead of its initial public offering last fall — and starting to see results.

The regenerative medicine firm, which started trading on the Nasdaq in October, saw a first-quarter revenue increase year over year “despite some ongoing Covid-related headwinds,” President and CEO Ron Lloyd said in a statement this week.

The University of Maryland will launch a new business development arm to nurture quantum-focused startups, President Darryll J. Pines announced last night at an event honoring the institution’s inventions, startup, mentor and student entrepreneurs of the year.

The Quantum Startup Foundry will support new businesses in the quantum technology field, which Pines said stands “poised to disrupt everything from cybersecurity and energy, to medical discoveries and the financial field.” It will be created through an initial $25 million investment from the university’s newly established Discovery Fund, with key funding from the state of Maryland.

HOLON, Israel, May 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a leader in predictive target discovery, today announced that it has expanded its research collaboration with Johns Hopkins University to include studies investigating the biology of a novel myeloid target that was computationally-discovered by Compugen. Initial preclinical studies demonstrate the potential of this target to serve as a novel myeloid immunomodulator, with significant tumor growth inhibition observed upon genetic deletion in in-vivo studies.

The AIM-HI Accelerator Fund’s Women’s Venture Competition is a first-of-its-kind program that provides funding, coaching and networking opportunities to women-led oncology start-ups. Subject to due diligence and negotiation, the winning company of 2021 Women’s Venture Competition will receive a total of $1 million in investment from AIM-HI and co-investors. Click here to download the flyer!

COLUMBIA, Md. (May 10, 2021)—The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission has approved funding to its second-round of 2021 recipients for a total of $6,052,901. The Commission has also appointed Amritha Jaishankar, Ph.D., the current MSCRF Director - Programs & Strategic Alliances, to succeed Dan Gincel, Ph.D., as Executive Director of the MSCRF, effective May 14, 2021.

“We thank Dr. Gincel for his leadership and many contributions to the MSCRF over the course of his 14 years as Executive Director, during which he consistently challenged us to grow and evolve to meet the needs of the Maryland stem cell community, and we are delighted that Dr. Jaishankar will lead the MSCRF through its next chapter,” said Dr. Debra Mathews, Chair of the Commission. “Dr. Jaishankar’s leadership, dedication, and tremendous work with the MSCRF and our stem cell community over past few years make her the ideal person to take us forward.”

Now we are in the final phase of completing the last work in BioPartner 5. The second floor is ready to be used. Today, MIMETAS received the keys tot their brand new floor in BioPartner 5. We would like to give Mimetas a warm welcome!

The Maryland Department of Commerce has announced a slew of new senior staff appointments.

Two of the positions had been vacant for more than a year.

Closing the markets today with our friends from Vaccitech!

Based in Oxford, UK, Vaccitech develops vaccines and T cell immunotherapies to treat and prevent diseases of global importance.

Congratulations to CEO Bill Enright and #NasdaqListed $VACC on this week's listing.

Image: https://www.linkedin.com

An ambitious push to create a “Global Pandemic Center” in suburban Maryland got a $500,000 boost Tuesday from the Montgomery County Council, which said the project could help drive the county’s post-pandemic economic recovery and foster resilience against the next major health crisis.

Spearheaded by the regional nonprofit Connected DMV, the center would involve scientists and policymakers from across the globe but operate primarily from the D.C. region, with a likely headquarters in Montgomery.

Image: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D). (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) 

Boeing donated $50 million to help found Virginia Tech’s Innovation campus, a billion-dollar project area leaders hope will bring together power-players in the region — like Amazon — to boost economic growth and build a pipeline of STEM talent for businesses.

The university announced the multi-year gift in a celebratory press event on Tuesday, emphasizing how it will benefit underrepresented groups in tech fields, including women, people of color and low-income populations. The project draws attention for its location, two miles from Amazon’s HQ2 campus, near a future transit station and across the river from Washington D.C., but speakers focused on the promise the Innovation Campus has for students.

Image: Concept art for the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus's academic building. (Virginia Tech)

Office real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been under pressure for the past year. The coronavirus pandemic has caused some investors to even question the concept of the office REIT. After all, if companies can work from home without much of a disruption, why will companies spend so much on expensive urban office space in the future?

The question has created headwinds for some office REIT operators. But while many office REITs saw big declines in income over the past 12 months, one office REIT appears to be bucking this trend.

PETERSBURG—Governor Ralph Northam today announced that AMPAC Fine Chemicals (AFC), a leading manufacturer of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in the United States, will invest $25 million to expand its existing operation on North Normandy Drive in the City of Petersburg. Virginia successfully competed with California and Texas for the project, which will create 156 new jobs. Governor Northam joined company leaders, key partners, and local economic development officials at AMPAC’s Petersburg facility to make the announcement.

Barrier function of epithelia is crucial for maintaining homeostasis in the human body. Its disruption in organs such as the intestine, kidney, lung, skin, eye, or the blood– brain-barrier is a hallmark of numerous diseases and toxic effects.1–3 Studying epithelial barrier function is essential for understanding disease processes, development of new therapeutic treatments, and investigation of compound safety. Permeability of epithelia grown in vitro is therefore routinely evaluated by fundamental and pharmaceutical researchers alike. In addition, proper barrier function is an important prerequisite when studying transport phenomena across epithelia in vitro.

Image: https://pubs.rsc.org

After spending the past five years fostering economic development in Montgomery County, Sarah Miller is turning her attention to the biopharma industry and the BioHealth Capital Region. Starting May 3, Miller joined BioHealth Innovation, Inc. as Vice President of Economic Development.

Miller transitions to BHI from her previous role as Vice President of Strategy for the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC). In her new role, Miller will solely focus on economic development opportunities within the biopharma industry across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. A laser-like focus on one industry will be new to Miller. She is no stranger to it, having worked in Montgomery County for the past several years. In her role with the MCEDC, Miller has worked with the development of the Germantown Innovation Center on the campus of Montgomery College campus in Germantown.

Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS @ Washington, DC: We did it! Persevering through a time of great challenge and change, today we’re happy to share that we’ve opened our doors in a thriving ecosystem, to entrepreneurs, early-stage companies and the life sciences community.

BETHESDA, Md., May 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: GANX) (“Gain”), a biotechnology company focused on redefining drug discovery by using super-computational methods to target allosteric binding sites and guide enzymes back to their proper shape, today announced new pre-clinical data from its GBA1 Parkinson’s disease program. The findings were highlighted in a presentation at the XXVI International Association of Parkinsonism and Related Disorders (IAPRD) World Congress, a research conference dedicated to Parkinson’s disease and other disorders affecting muscle tone and motor control, being held virtually May 1-4, 2021.

Women Building Bio 2021 is just around the corner.

Save the date for September 30th to join our 6th year of Women Building Bio. An event always focused on advancing the bioscience through collaboration between industry and academia, researchers and innovators, professionals and decision-makers.

On a first-quarter earnings call Thursday, Emergent's CEO addressed a turbulent month for the Gaithersburg biopharmaceutical company.

Image: https://www.bizjournals.com

Locally Researched by: Carolyn M. Proctor, Washington Business Journal Apr 30, 2021, 6:00am EDT

Source: The companies, Form 990s, SEC filings and regional economic development agencies

Around Baltimore, folks tend to analyze economic trends through three vantage points: the city, the region and the state. No matter which level you’re looking at, data on venture capital shows that the first quarter of 2021 brought an influx of investment for local emerging companies.

Data from the latest MoneyTree report by PwC/CB Insights shows that Maryland companies received a collective $562 million in investment over 24 deals. It was a nearly 68% increase in the number of dollars and a 26% increase in the number of deals from the fourth quarter of 2020, which capped off a big year of investment in the pandemic.

Image: nsightin Health's team in the South Baltimore office. (Courtesy photo)

A potential vaccine has brought new life to the embattled Gaithersburg biotech.

Image: Novavax CEO Stanley Erck, left, and Gregory Glenn, head of research and development, at Novavax's office in Gaithersburg. EMAN MOHAMMED

Oxford, UK – Vaccitech plc (“Vaccitech”) (Nasdaq: VACC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel immunotherapeutics and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases and cancer, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering in the United States of 6,500,000 American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) representing 6,500,000 ordinary shares at an initial public offering price of $17.00 per ADS for total gross proceeds of $110.5 million. All ADSs sold in the offering are being offered by Vaccitech. The ADSs are expected to begin trading on The Nasdaq Global Market on April 30, 2021 under the ticker symbol “VACC.”  In addition, Vaccitech has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 975,000 ADSs at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering is expected to close on May 4, 2021, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Gain Therapeutics CEO Eric Richman joins BioTalk to Discuss His Career, Redefining Drug Discovery, and Ventures in the BioHealth Capital Region and Beyond.

Listen now on Apple https://apple.co/3vB8mS3, Google https://bit.ly/2QI3xrb, Spotify https://spoti.fi/33021mT, and TuneIn https://bit.ly/2S7Yuk4.

This is a complimentary webinar - the optional attendee list is $39. For registration questions, please email Elizabeth Baker at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

What You'll Learn: 

- Why immunology companies with groundbreaking vaccine, cell and gene therapy work are thriving in Montgomery County, MD, home to the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and 38 federal labs  

-How the Montgomery County ecosystem supports companies fast tracking to develop and commercialize products 

- Where the region stands on a national and international scale as home to a vibrant, growing life sciences sector  

- Why top life science tenants are growing and moving to Montgomery County, MD and the DMV   

Image: https://www.bisnow.com

André Marshall will draw from his life experience across innovation and workforce development to drive Mason to new heights, he says.

Image: Andre Marshall, is set to become George Mason University's vice president for research, innovation and economic development on July 1.   - George Mason University - Ron Aira

Montgomery County, Maryland, was a leader in biotechnology before COVID-19 hit, ranking among the highest in the nation for the number of life sciences companies, and the pandemic has only fueled the industry’s growth.

That means more high-paying jobs and demand for research and laboratory-suitable real estate.

There are currently 650 companies operating in the bio-health area in Maryland, including biotechnology and medical device manufacturers. The majority are early-stage companies, but many are now transitioning to later-stage and product manufacturing. Some are well established.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

Are you a servant leader of leaders? Can you “GiveFirst” with no expectation of anything in return? Do you believe that collaboration drives innovation? Do you believe that entrepreneurs can change the world? If so read on...

We are seeking a Managing Director (MD) who can  ake the helm and lead our Accelerator and investment strategy for Techstars in Baltimore, Maryland . Your focus is to invest in the best founders, companies and support them from ideation to exit. You will actively recruit, select, mentor and guide founders through challenges, critical decisions, strategy, tactics, securing investment, making hard decisions and celebrating their wins. You will be directly supported by a Program Manager (PM) who focuses on program operations and with you, executing the Techstars proven playbook and delivering the best possible experience for Founders.