News Archive

October 2021, A 2020 survey conducted by BIO found that in the 100 biotech companies surveyed, women made up nearly half of total employees, but accounted for only 31% of executives and 23% of CEOs. Women’s representation suffers a steep decline in leadership positions across the life sciences, and the gap only widens for women of color.

When Lynn Johnson Langer and Debra Bowes, started their careers in the life sciences they both knew that gender diversity was rare, and even scarcer as women entrepreneurs. “Networking events I attended were mainly comprised of men. There were no opportunities to talk with women about their experiences and career opportunities,” said Johnson Langer.

We thought 2021 would bring a stronger path forward for Greater Washington — and the world — after a debilitating, unpredictable, unprecedented 2020.

And yet, we remain steeped in uncertainty and adversity after a Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus deepened the death toll and put thousands more at risk on a daily basis, physically and mentally, while businesses and employers continue to navigate through reopening delays and staff departures. 

OCT 06, 2025 08:30 EST

PediaMetrix received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for SoftSpot^TM, a cross platform software solution for infant cranial evaluation at the point of care. The FDA clearance demonstrates SoftSpot’s safety and efficacy for infant cranial measurements using a smartphone.

“This is an important milestone for PediaMetrix and we see great potential in now bringing this innovative technology to pediatricians in the US and around the world”, said Fereshteh Aalamifar, PhD, President & CEO of PediaMetrix. Currently, pediatricians are not equipped with any tool for quantitative measurement of cranial shape and only perform visual assessment. They refer parents of children at risk to specialists for quantitative measurements, which can cause delays in the early detection and intervention. SoftSpot brings the power of a specialist to a pediatric office using a smartphone.

PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Alexandria Venture Investments, the strategic venture capital platform of 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, was recognized by Silicon Valley Bank in its Healthcare Investments and Exits: Mid-Year 2021 Report as the #1 most active biopharma corporate investor by new deal volume from 2020 to 1H21 for the fourth consecutive year and the #1 most active new Series A investor in biopharma by new deal volume from 2020 to 1H21. These most recent leadership rankings are a testament to Alexandria’s position at the vanguard and heart of the life science ecosystem. In addition to its leadership in early-stage life science venture capital investing, Alexandria Venture Investments was listed as one of the five most active U.S. investors in agrifoodtech in the 2021 AgFunder AgriFoodTech Investment Report earlier this year. Alexandria Venture Investments has for more than 25 years strategically invested in some of the most disruptive life science, agrifoodtech and technology companies advancing transformative new modalities and platforms to meaningfully improve human health. Fully integrated into Alexandria’s differentiated and multifaceted business, the highly successful mission-critical Alexandria Venture Investments platform provides the company with strategic insight into these industries, strengthens relationships with key entrepreneurs and investors and enables the curation of the highest-quality tenant base.

October 19, 2021 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

GYEONGGI-DO, Korea & GAITHERSBURG, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–D&D Pharmatech Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on development and commercialization of revolutionary medicines, and parent company of U.S.-based Neuraly Inc., Precision Molecular, Inc., Theraly Fibrosis Inc., P4Microbiome and Valted Seq, today announced that it has completed a $51 million Series C round of financing led by Praxis Capital Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on growth acquisitions and investments in Asia; other investors included DS Asset Management, Kudos Ventures and Korea Investment & Securities. The new round of financing builds upon the $137.1 million the company secured in Series B financing in August 2019. The company is planning an initial public offering in Korea in 2022.

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GANX) (“Gain”, or the “Company”), a biotechnology company focused on identifying and optimizing allosteric binding sites never before targeted in neurodegenerative diseases and lysosomal storage disorders, today announced the appointment of Matthias Alder as Chief Operating Officer to advance the Company’s strategic and operational objectives, including the establishment of additional industry partnerships and the transition of the Company’s lead program in Gaucher and Parkinson’s Disease into clinical trials, which is expected to occur in 2022.

“I am delighted to welcome Matthias to Gain’s growing team as we methodically scale our platform and build our internal clinical trial capabilities and operations,” said Eric Richman, Chief Executive Officer of Gain. “He brings extensive experience in the pharma and biotech industries and is a seasoned executive who will complement our current executive team at a pivotal time for Gain as we grow the organization and prepare to advance our lead program into clinical trials.”

Home to an array of renowned universities, federal labs, and government resources, it’s no surprise that the globally renowned Milken Institute found that Maryland “has one of the nation’s strongest life sciences industries,” according to its recent report.

It’s clear that Maryland’s efforts to grow its recognition as a life sciences/biotech hub have paid off. However, there is still more work to be done in order for Maryland’s R&D growth trajectory to keep up with other leading hubs such as Massachusetts and North Carolina.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

Scientists temporarily attached a pig’s kidney to a human body and watched it begin to work, a small step in the decades-long quest to one day use animal organs for life-saving transplants.

Pigs have been the most recent research focus to address the organ shortage, but among the hurdles: A sugar in pig cells, foreign to the human body, causes immediate organ rejection. The kidney for this experiment came from a gene-edited animal, engineered to eliminate that sugar and avoid an immune system attack.

Image: Photo: Joe Carrotta/NYU Langone Health via AP. In this September 2021 photo provided by NYU Langone Health, a surgical team at the hospital in New York examines a pig kidney attached to the body of a deceased recipient for any signs of rejection. From left are Drs. Zoe A. Stewart-Lewis, Robert A. Montgomery, Bonnie E. Lonze and Jeffrey Stern. The test was a step in the decades-long quest to one day use animal organs for life-saving transplants.

Phlow is strategically working with the U.S. government to ensure preparedness for future national health crises  

October 20, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

RICHMOND, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Phlow Corp., a U.S.-based essential medicines impact company, today announced that it has been approved for inclusion in the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) network. The network is part of a comprehensive effort by the U.S. government to provide a domestically integrated, systematic approach to the development of the necessary vaccines, drugs, therapies, and diagnostic tools to address public health emergencies.