News Archive

Manassas, VA – On June 17, 2020, Serpin Pharma was notified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it may proceed with its proposed clinical investigation for the use of SP16 to treat COVID-19 hospitalized patients. The Principal Investigator is Serpin Pharma’s collaborator,

Dr. Michael Yun Shim, John L. Guerrant Assoc. Professor of Medicine and Medical Imaging, Div. of Pulmonary & Critical Care of the University of Virginia. Dr. Larry Altstiel, acting Chief Medical Officer for Serpin Pharma, said, “SP16 is a potent new antiinflammatory drug rather than a non-specific, toxic immunosuppressive drug. SP16 reduces the production of inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6) while sparing normal and protective immune function. It is effective in several animal models of acute inflammation, in particular, following a severe lung infection. Therefore, SP16, by its ability to inhibit excess cytokine production, may attenuate the development of inflammation-induced lung injury in individuals with COVID-19 infection.”

Deloitte has launched the Life Sciences Catalyst in Cambridge, a collaborative platform enabling organisations in the biotech, medtech, pharmaceutical and technology sectors, as well as prospective investors, to come together to tackle the biggest challenges facing their industries.

The Life Sciences Catalyst will facilitate connections between people, businesses and investors to support companies with their growth, regardless of their evolutionary stage.

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cerecor Inc. (NASDAQ: CERC), a biopharmaceutical company focused on becoming a leader in the development and commercialization of treatments for rare pediatric and orphan diseases, today announced the first patient has been enrolled in a proof-of-concept trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of the anti-LIGHT monoclonal antibody, CERC-002, in patients with COVID-19 cytokine storm-induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).

The proof-of-concept, randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial will enroll approximately 82 subjects hospitalized with COVID-19 ARDS. The primary objective of the study is to demonstrate that treatment with CERC-002 results in fewer instances of respiratory failure and death versus the standard of care. Patients in the CERC-002 arm will receive a single dose of drug and be followed for 28 days. Key secondary endpoints include intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, hospital length of stay, and oxygen saturation at the end of the study. Top-line data are expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.

To limit the spread of Covid-19, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that individuals practice social distancing. When local conditions allow for retail stores to open, they confront a variety of guidelines that vary by state. For example North Carolina places specific limits on the number of customers allowed per square foot, while Oregon generally advises that the number of customers in the store should be limited so that customers can remain six feet apart. Whether or not customers are required by law to wear masks in stores depends on the state. How retailers implement these guidelines also varies among types of retailers and even within store categories. Grocery stores, for example, have adopted a wide variety of specific methods to ensure that customers remain apart.

Virologist Andrew Pekosz has a team of 15 people working around the clock in his lab at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health supporting work on a potential treatment for COVID-19. Pekosz’s lab is testing the blood of coronavirus survivors for plasma antibodies that researchers think might help treat critically ill coronavirus patients.

Image: Nekeshia Maloney, JHTV’s director of contracts

BioFactura, Inc. Co-Founder, President & CEO, Darryl Sampey, PH.D., joins BioTalk to discuss his background with the University of Maryland, the BioHealth Capital Region, and the creation of his company in Frederick.

Listen now via Google https://bit.ly/3hz2jpU, Apple https://apple.co/3eYLiUs, Spotify https://spoti.fi/3f3cqBU, TuneIn https://bit.ly/302voUG, and YouTube (Audio Only) https://bit.ly/3f3cQZ0

Today, July 22nd, a virtual summit was hosted by KidneyX to announce the six winners of the Redesign Dialysis Phase 2 prize. The goal of the Redesign Dialysis prize is to provide prize money for novel ideas and innovations that will lead to better outcomes for people with kidney diseases and eventually to a truly artificial kidney. The eventual artificial kidney and innovations made along the way will lead to better outcomes for individuals with kidney diseases and improve their quality of life by bypassing in-center hemodialysis.

BALTIMORE, July 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Vita Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that it received orphan drug designation (ODD) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for VTA-110, a novel regenerative therapy for the treatment of Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

VTA-110, is a potential first-in-class allogenic iPSC-based therapy that has shown the ability to repair and regenerate healthy muscle in preclinical studies and has the potential to benefit patients with DMD. The company plans to continue to progress this treatment towards clinical trials and plans to bring it forward for other congenital muscular dystrophy diseases as well. This therapy was exclusively licensed from technology originally invented at Johns Hopkins University and the Kennedy Krieger Institute in the labs of Dr. Kathryn Wagner and Dr. Gabsang Lee.

D.C. is requiring people making travel into Washington from 27 states to self-quarantine because of new surges in Covid-19 cases.

The order went into effect Monday.