News Archive

At his State of the Union speech in March, President Joe Biden urged Congress to fund a new federal agency that would “supercharge” breakthrough medical research and “end cancer as we know it.”

Congress responded two weeks later by approving $1 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, which will tackle projects that are seen as too costly, risky or time-intensive for the private sector and traditional public research.

In Maryland, research institutions, labs, pharmaceutical companies and biotech startups have long had a close, symbiotic relationship with the numerous federal health agencies already located here, but federal leaders and lawmakers think it might be time now for some distance.

Image: President Joe Biden speaks with researchers and patients about ARPA-H, a new health research agency that seeks to accelerate progress on curing cancer and other health innovations, on March 18 in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (: EBS) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Chimerix, Inc. ( CMRX), to acquire Chimerix’s exclusive worldwide rights to TEMBEXA® (brincidofovir), the first antiviral approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for all age groups for the treatment of smallpox. TEMBEXA was approved in June 2021 and is indicated for the treatment of human smallpox disease in adult and pediatric patients, including neonates.

“The addition of TEMBEXA to Emergent’s portfolio of medical countermeasures builds upon our core capabilities and leverages our long and successful history partnering with the U.S. government to address dangerous public health threats,” said Robert G. Kramer, president and CEO of Emergent. “It exemplifies our thoughtful M&A strategy as part of our 2024 growth plan and positions us better to deliver value for our shareholders.”

GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for review the Biologics License Application (BLA) for AV7909 (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed, Adjuvanted). AV7909 is the company’s new anthrax vaccine candidate evaluated for post-exposure prophylaxis of disease following suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthracis in persons 18 through 65 years of age when administered in conjunction with recommended antibacterial drugs. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date for a decision by the FDA is in April 2023.

“Over the last 20 years, Emergent has partnered with the U.S. government to lead this program from early- to advanced-stage development,” said Kelly Warfield, senior vice president research and development at Emergent BioSolutions. “As we progress toward licensure of AV7909, which is designed to follow a two-dose immunization schedule and to elicit a faster immune response, we redouble our efforts to support the government’s overall preparedness and response strategy for large-scale emergencies involving anthrax and other threats to public health.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research, investing more than $30 billion in taxpayer dollars. However, what is little known about the agency is that its technologies are available for licensing and collaboration, according to Michael Salgaller, PhD, supervisor of the technology analysis and marketing unit at the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Technology Transfer Center.

The North American innovation ecosystem is increasingly diverse. In collaboration with Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Fundación IDEA, and the Bay Area Economic Council Institute, ITIF compiled this index to identify economic differences among states and provinces and highlight regions needing more federal attention, identify cross-national innovation performance, and track the continent’s overall competitiveness in the innovation-driven global economy.

NEW YORK, June 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), an urban office REIT and the first, longest-tenured and pioneering owner, operator and developer uniquely focused on collaborative life science, agtech and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, today celebrates the grand opening of Alexandria LaunchLabs® at Columbia, which was created in a strategic collaboration with Columbia University. As the company’s second LaunchLabs site in New York City, Alexandria LaunchLabs at Columbia builds upon the success of the flagship LaunchLabs site at the Alexandria Center® for Life Science – New York City, which reached its fifth anniversary this month. The grand opening event marks an important milestone for the unique and leading life science startup platform purpose-built to accelerate innovation and growth for promising early-stage companies. With over 10,000 diseases known to humankind and less than 10% currently addressable with therapies, Alexandria LaunchLabs at Columbia is playing an essential role in catalyzing the translation of scientific research emerging from Columbia University and other leading NYC academic and medical research institutions into treatments and cures to help meet humanity’s massive unmet medical need and alleviate patient suffering.

Image: Alexandria LaunchLabs® at Columbia, located on the Columbia University Irving Medical Center campus. Courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

Vaccitech’s VTP-300 induced sustained reductions of surface antigen in patients with chronic hepatitis B both as a monotherapy and in combination with a single low dose of anti-PD-1

VTP-300 as a monotherapy and in combination with a single administration of
low-dose nivolumab was administered, with no treatment-related serious adverse
events and infrequent transient transaminitis.

Meaningful, durable reductions of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were
seen in some patients who received VTP-300 as either a monotherapy or in
combination with a single low dose of nivolumab at the booster dose. Declines
were most prominent in patients with lower baseline HBsAg.

All patients who received VTP-300 monotherapy or in combination with low-dose
nivolumab and who had a HBsAg decline greater than 0.5 log[10] had durable
reductions of HBsAg until the last measurement (up to eight months after last
dose).

BETHESDA, Md., June 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Aledade announced it has closed a $123 million Series E funding round to support investments in value-based care for more seniors covered by Medicare Advantage (MA) and innovation that improves patient care and increases medical cost savings, including expanded offerings through its new health services subsidiary, Aledade Care Solutions (ACS). Returning investor OMERS Growth Equity led the round, which also included Fidelity Management & Research Company and other current investors.

GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced today that two-year persistence data from its phase 2 clinical study evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of the company’s investigational chikungunya virus virus-like particle (CHIKV VLP) vaccine candidate were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The article, Safety and immunogenicity of PXVX0317, an aluminum hydroxide-adjuvanted chikungunya virus-like particle vaccine: a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group, phase 2 trial, is available online.

“Emergent is pleased that results from our CHIKV VLP phase 2 study have been published and shared with the scientific community in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, a highly esteemed peer-reviewed journal,” said Chris Cabell, M.D., chief medical officer and SVP clinical development at Emergent BioSolutions. “Publication of this body of work highlights the importance of developing ways to address Chikungunya disease, a public health threat for which no vaccine or treatment exists.”

Summary of published results
This randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, phase 2 study was conducted at three U.S. sites with 415 participants. Eligible participants were healthy CHIKV-naïve adults aged 18–45 years. The primary endpoint was the geometric mean titer of anti-CHIKV neutralizing antibody on day 57 (28 days after the last vaccination). Safety was also assessed.