SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Why We Vaccinate, Inc., a 501(3)(c) educational organization dedicated to provide a credible and trusted source for honest and factual information on vaccines, their efficacy, safety and importance to public health, announced today the appointment of eight new board members. These additions to the organization's leadership further its efforts to develop educational programs and facts-based messages. Our goals are to put forward information on the science and safety of vaccines, educating the population on the value of all vaccines and immunization programs.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — A broad range of 49 Montgomery County, Maryland companies made the list in this year’s annual Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing privately-owned companies in the United States. The recognized companies span industries that include software, IT system development, health, biotech, consumer products, advertising & marketing, construction, government services and financial services. 

Among the Montgomery County companies, there is a prevalence in software, healthcare/bio and government services—a natural fit with access to one of the country’s most highly  educated workforces and local proximity to world-class federal research institutions in science, health, medicine and cybersecurity such as NIST, NIH, FDA and NCCOE.    

The George Washington University (GW) Technology Commercialization Office is pleased to host the inaugural DC Startup Showcase.

DC Startup Showcase will present companies developing disruptive healthcare innovations.

Log on to our live YouTube channel to see pitches from entrepreneurs seeking funding to bring the fruits of high-impact research to market.

Then join our Zoom rooms to follow up with specific startups, ask questions of our legal sponsors, and/or mix and mingle with DC’s best entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders.

In an effort to improve communication among children, hard-of-hearing, and Deaf individuals, ClearMask is working to provide accessibility to everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ClearMask teamed up with Montgomery County-based business Xometry, the largest on-demand manufacturing platform, to produce the PPE design for its fully transparent surgical mask. Xometry has one of the largest 3D printing plants in the Mid Atlantic region.

Image: https://open.maryland.gov

I am writing to share the exciting news that the Foundation for the NIH has just launched a dynamic new website to salute the incredible accomplishments of the recipients of 2020 FNIH honors:

• Dr. Aviv Regev, winner of the Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences

• Dr. Anthony Fauci, winner of the Charles A. Sanders, M.D., Partnership Award

• Dr. Michael Wilson, winner of Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists

The new site features in-depth interviews, engaging interactive content, and more in a celebration of scientific achievement. To check out the site, visit awards.fnih.org.

We think your community will be interested in learning more about the FNIH prizes and these esteemed recipients!  We are hoping that you might be willing to share the site.

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellphire, the global leader in long-term stabilization and storage of platelets, is proud to announce that the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) has awarded Cellphire President G. Michael Fitzpatrick, PhD, with the 2020 ASBP Lifetime Achievement Award for his service and significant contributions to ASBP and the warfighter.

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmes today announced that Dr. Christine Dingivan has joined the company as its new president and chief executive officer.  She is succeeding Dr. Anne Lindblad, who is retiring after 38 years at the company.  Dr. Dingivan will be Emmes' fourth chief executive since the company was founded in 1977.

Image: https://www.biospace.com

Unlike some other manufacturers, Samsung Biologics has enjoyed a revenue boost from the novel coronavirus pandemic, and it's accelerating its expansion plans to match. With a $2 billion "super plant" in the offing, Samsung now has a new Big Pharma supply deal in place to keep driving growth.

AstraZeneca tapped Samsung Biologics for a $331 million supply pact to produce bulk drug substance and "drug product to support AstraZeneca's biologics therapeutics" at the CMO's Plant 3 facility in Incheon, South Korea, the partners said Tuesday.

Image: Samsung Biologics' expansion plans include a $2 billion "super plant" at the CMO's Incheon complex. (Samsung)

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — TIME recently named a Johns Hopkins University professor to its 2020 list of the 100 most influential people in the world for developing a free and open website for the public to track the COVID-19 pandemic in near-real-time.

Lauren Gardner, a civil and systems engineering professor in the Whiting School of Engineering, led the team that built the COVID-19 Dashboard in late January.

Image: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Allen Burgenson had a job, his father explained as they stood on the sand.

This was Allen's first fishing trip, but he wasn't going to take anything from the bay. He was to return the water's gifts to the deep, where they'd belonged for hundreds of millions of years. 

If he spotted a horseshoe crab on its back, his father said as he held Allen's hand, that meant it was in trouble and needed Allen's help to get home. Allen just had to flip it over. Its 10 legs could make it the rest of the way back to the crashing waves. 

Image: https://www.usatoday.com

A new federal fiscal year (FY) begins October 1, but lawmakers at deadline haven’t even agreed on stopgap funding needed to keep Washington fully functioning next month, let alone come to terms on a new budget for FY 2021.

As a result, nobody yet knows how much funding the NIH will have net fiscal year. President Donald Trump began the budget process in February, weeks before COVID-19 led to shutdowns nationwide, by proposing a record $4.9 trillion spending plan that would have cut the NIH’s budget by 7%, from $41.7 billion to $38.4 billion.

CRCHD seeks motivated scientists to serve as Program Directors in its Diversity Training Branch (DTB) and Integrated Networks Branch (INB). These Program Directors will manage and develop a portfolio of innovative grant-supported diversity training (DTB) and network-based initiatives (INB), and identify scientific opportunities to generate new knowledge supporting the NCI mission. The successful candidates will hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree.

BioHealthInnovation invites you to join over 120 leading VCs, Corp VCs, Angel Investors and over 100
Top Innovators online at Venture Summit Virtual Connect being held on November 17th – 19 th 2020.
One-on-One (zoom) investor meetings, 2 days of content including timely panel discussions, workshops
and an inspiring keynotes. Register now to confirm your spot: https://bit.ly/2DMyzYx & get an extra
20% off the Early Bird Rates with Discount Code: BIOHEALTHVIP .

Listen now via Apple https://apple.co/2RMiuoY, Google https://bit.ly/3iUXZCw, Spotify https://spoti.fi/32R5ll4, TuneIn https://bit.ly/33QE1m0, YouTube (Audio) https://bit.ly/367Ux47.

Dr. Mossman obtained her Ph.D. in herpes virology from the University of Liverpool, UK. Thereafter she conducted two postdoctoral fellowships in HIV vaccine research in the USA, first at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, and then at the University of Washington, Seattle. She spent 8 years within Corixa Corporation, a biotechnology company focusing on developing novel approaches to vaccines, including adjuvants, delivery strategies, and proprietary antigen candidates for infectious disease and cancer vaccines.  She joined GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines in 2006 and spent 10 years in Rixensart Belgium in the early development of infectious disease vaccines. More recently, she relocated to Maryland as part of the founding leadership team for the USA R&D headquarters for GSK Vaccines in Rockville, where she was initially heading up the Discovery effort. She is now Head of the Rockville R&D site and oversees a portfolio of vaccine candidates at all stages of development as well as driving key vaccine technologies, including mRNA and Adenovirus platforms. 

TENANT AMENITIES • Up to 21,400 RSF of office/lab suite available

• Divisible to 9,529 RSF and 11,871 RSF

• Conveniently located between Route 28 and Route 355 in Rockville, MD

• Proximate to other life science companies

• The proposed plans (attached) include heavily improved laboratory space • Emergency back-up power

• Ample surface parking

• Close proximity to Rockville Town Square, containing restaurants, retail, and more

Don't miss your chance to be named the BioHealth Startup with the Most Commercial Potential at the BHCR Forum, win $10,000 and more!

Applications due: 9/30

Finalists notified by: 10/2

Mandatory presenter coaching for finalists: 10/7

This invitation-only event is free for executive level biotech leaders and is presented by the Association of University Research Parks, AstraZeneca, BioHealth Innovation, Children’s National Health System, Emergent BioSolutions, George Mason University, J.P. Morgan, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Department of Commerce, Virginia Bio, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC set the bar high for biotech innovation. So please join us for our 6th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum that will highlight the accomplishments of today and chart our successes of tomorrow.

We are excited to bring you an exceptional line up of speakers to this virtual event!

*Please note that attendees’ name might be recorded if participating in the chat function during the event.

This invitation-only event is free for executive level biotech leaders and is presented by the Association of University Research Parks, AstraZeneca, BioHealth Innovation, Children’s National Health System, Emergent BioSolutions, George Mason University, J.P. Morgan, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Department of Commerce, Virginia Bio, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC set the bar high for biotech innovation. So please join us for our 6th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum that will highlight the accomplishments of today and chart our successes of tomorrow.

We are excited to bring you an exceptional line up of speakers to this virtual event!

*Please note that attendees’ name might be recorded if participating in the chat function during the event.

Join fellow biotech leaders and is presented by the Association of University Research Parks, AstraZeneca, BioHealth Innovation, Children’s National Health System, Emergent BioSolutions, George Mason University, J.P. Morgan, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Department of Commerce, Virginia Bio, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC set the bar high for biotech innovation. So please join us for our 6th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum that will highlight the accomplishments of today and chart our successes of tomorrow.

We are excited to bring you an exceptional line up of speakers to this virtual event!

BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - The European Union has agreed to buy a potential COVID-19 vaccine from Sanofi SASY.PA and GSK GSK.L in its second such deal to secure supplies, as a deadline for joining the World Health Organization's (WHO) vaccine purchase programme looms.

Qiagen signed up to distribute the mid- and high-throughput versions of NeuMoDx’s PCR automation systems in major markets outside the U.S. in 2018. The agreement saw Qiagen take a 20% stake in its new partner and secure an option to buy the remaining 80% for $234 million, plus adjustments for cash, indebtedness and transaction costs. Since then, Qiagen and NeuMoDx have worked to expand the test menu, most recently in response to COVID-19.

Bio and Pharma Manufacturing Renaissance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwqTWD7Ifcs&feature=youtu.be

ZURICH (Reuters) - Drugmaker Roche on Friday said it had received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a test to quickly detect whether a patient has SARS-CoV-2 or one of two forms of influenza

HOUSTON, Sept. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA), a leading global producer of specialty polymers and high-value biobased products derived from pine wood pulping co-products, is seeking regulatory approval for BIAXAM, a novel sulfonated polymer technology with long-lasting self-disinfecting properties that has been demonstrated in studies to quickly inactivate up to 99.99% of SARS-CoV-2 (virus that causes COVID-19) and other microbes.

HOUSTON, Sept. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA), a leading global producer of specialty polymers and high-value biobased products derived from pine wood pulping co-products, is seeking regulatory approval for BIAXAM, a novel sulfonated polymer technology with long-lasting self-disinfecting properties that has been demonstrated in studies to quickly inactivate up to 99.99% of SARS-CoV-2 (virus that causes COVID-19) and other microbes.

SR One, a venture capital firm focused on the biotech space, is looking to raised up to $400m for its new fund.

The firm has yet to register any capital for SR One Capital Fund I, according to the latest US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

It is unclear whether the $400m figure on the document is just a target or will also be a hardcap for the fundraise.

Emergent BioSolutions will further strengthen its contract development and manufacturing capabilities by expanding into viral vector and gene therapy by investing $75 million in its Canton facility.

The facility is focused on the development and manufacturing of drug substances for live viral vaccines, including the company’s smallpox vaccine.

“Emergent’s expansion into advanced therapy CDMO services is based on our biologics expertise and a strong understanding of our customers’ current and future needs,” said Sean Kirk, executive vice president, manufacturing and technical operations at Emergent BioSolutions. “We are investing in our people, plants and products to meet the growing demand for precision treatments and to help get these therapies to patients.”

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (Aurinia) is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company (Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:AUP); NASDAQ (NASDAQ:AUPH) focused on commercializing therapies for rare autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company announced in March 2020 that it had established its U.S. commercial center of operations in Rockville, Maryland, which is actively staffing up with key personnel. Among the key leaders, Aurinia attracted were two veteran industry executives with deep ties to the region: former top MedImmune executives Peter Greenleaf and Max Donley are the company’s CEO and EVP, Internal Operations and Strategy, respectively. They both joined Aurinia’s leadership team in 2019

Maryland is the epicenter of biotech and life science innovation in the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR). The state is home to a burgeoning life science ecosystem, including a rapidly growing cell and gene therapy industry, a robust and growing advanced biomanufacturing environment, and a deep network of leading research universities and critical government life science research entities.

Graybug Vision, an Ocular disease biotech, filed with the SEC on September 4, 2020 for an $86 million IPO on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol GRAY. SVB Leerink, Piper Sandler, Needham & Co. and Wedbush PacGrow are the joint underwriters on the offering, for which pricing terms were not disclosed.

BALTIMORE, Sept. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GlycoT Therapeutics LLC, a UM Ventures start-up company based on intellectual property (IP) developed at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), has executed a sublicense agreement for its glycoengineering technology with Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (Daiichi Sankyo; www.daiichisankyo.com). The agreement grants Daiichi Sankyo worldwide and non-exclusive rights to IP that GlycoT currently licenses from UMB and UMCP, and includes an undisclosed upfront payment, annual fees, and adequate royalties of sales to GlycoT.

Doylestown PA, USA and Abingdon, Oxon, UK, 15 September 2020 – Emergex Vaccines Holding Limited (‘Emergex’), a company tackling major global infectious disease threats through the development of synthetic ‘set point’ vaccines which prime the T-Cell immune response, today announces the determination of a Class I MHC expression library, or ligandome, for SARS-Cov-2 infected cells, in collaboration with George Mason University (‘GMU’), National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, Virginia, USA.

“5 Questions With……” is a weekly BioBuzz series where we reach out to interesting people in the BioHealth Capital Region to share a little about themselves, their work, and maybe something completely unrelated. This edition features 5 Questions with Tammi Thomas, Vice President, Marketing & Communications at TEDCO.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

Interactive remarks with the world's top leaders in innovation and inspiration  Plan for up-to-the-moment discussions on global issues including projected outcomes from the U.S. 2020 Presidential election.

Are you and early stage company with innovative biohealth technology? Have you considered non-dilutive funding to advance your technology? Learn more about whether or not federal or state non-dilutive funding makes sense for you. Discuss potential strategies for success. Sign up for a free 1:1 advice and feedback regarding non-dilutive funding strategy and applications with BHI staff who have helped companies secured SBIR, STTR and other awards—at twice the national average win rate.   This program is open to anyone, though scheduling priority is given to Montgomery County companies, courtesy support from MCEDC.

Click here to schedule a time.