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VIENNA, AUSTRIA and GAITHERSBURG, MD, July 8, 2020 APEIRON Biologics AG (“APEIRON”), a private biotechnology company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel immunotherapies for cancer and respiratory diseases, and MaxCyte, Inc., a global cell-based therapies and life sciences company, today announces the signing of a clinical and commercial licensing agreement.

APEIRON Biologics will obtain non-exclusive clinical and commercial rights to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation® technology and ExPERT™ platform for the advancement of APN401, a siRNA-based cell therapy currently in clinical development for various solid tumors. In return, MaxCyte will receive undisclosed development and approval milestones and sales-based payments in addition to other licensing fees.

GSK and Medicago today announced a collaboration to develop and evaluate a COVID-19 candidate vaccine combining Medicago’s recombinant Coronavirus Virus-Like Particles (CoVLP) with GSK’s pandemic adjuvant system. CoVLPs mimic the structure of the virus responsible for COVID-19 disease, allowing them to be recognised by the immune system. Use of an adjuvant can be of particular importance in a pandemic situation as it may boost the immune response and reduce the amount of antigen required per dose, allowing more vaccine doses to be produced and therefore contributing to protect more people.

Four more US biotechs filed to go pub lic Fri day as yet more com pa nies clam ber to get through a yawn ing IPO win dow and on to a mar ket that’s sig naled its will ing ness to re ward near ly any new drug mak er.

The new en trants are led by ALX On col o gy and the bi o log i cal an a lyt ics biotech Berke ley Lights, each of whom filed to raise $100 mil lion. The au toim mune com pa ny Pan dion Ther a peu tics al so filed for $75 mil lion, and Kiromic Bio phar ma, a tiny im muno-on col o gy start up based in San An to nio, filed for $25 mil lion.

Paul Rothman, MD, CEO of Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine and dean of the medical faculty at Johns Hopkins University, discussed the health system’s COVID-19 data platform and the potential for artificial intelligence to make a difference in how health systems approach treatment in the future in an interview with The Media Line.

Since the pandemic began, Johns Hopkins has gathered COVID-19 data and reported it on a public dashboard for cases and deaths in the U.S. and across the world. Dr. Rothman said the health system is using artificial intelligence and machine learning in its platform and aims to collaborate with others to incorporate data in the future.

In a recent conversation someone shared the quote “You can’t throw a stone in the BioHealth Capital Region and not hit somebody who worked at MedImmune”. This statement emphasizes how important the company was in seeding the growth of the biotech industry in Maryland. Founded by Wayne T. Hockmeyer in 1988 as Molecular Vaccines, Inc., MedImmune became one of the cornerstone Biotech companies in what eventually was named the BioHealth Capital Region.

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Ten finalists have been named in the prestigious annual “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition presented by the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI). Representing innovations in cardiovascular, orthopaedic and spine, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) medical devices, finalists were selected from a field of 30 semi-finalists who competed in March 2020.  The ten innovators now have access to a new pediatric accelerator program and will compete for FDA-funded grants of up to $50,000 each in the final virtual pitch event on Oct. 7 as part of the 8th Annual Symposium on Pediatric Device Innovation, co-located with the MedTech Conference, powered by AdvaMed.

RADNOR, Pa., June 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Avantor, Inc. (NYSE: AVTR), a leading global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the life sciences, advanced technologies and applied materials industries, today announced the expansion of the company’s Bridgewater, N.J. (USA) innovation center. Located close to biotech companies, the site now has nearly double the laboratory and support space.

Bioprocessing efficiency that doesn’t compromise quality continues to be a top priority for the biopharma industry. At the same time, it’s critical to meet increasingly stringent global regulatory standards.

With its COVID-19 vaccine hopeful cycling through clinical trials, shot maker Novavax is working to flesh out its executive team to help lead the company to the commercial stage. But you can’t get regulatory approval without a sturdy manufacturing operation—and now Novavax has hired an exec to get that operation in order.

Novavax tapped Ben Machielse as its executive vice president of chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) as the vaccine maker works to take its COVID-19 and four-strain flu hopefuls across the finish line, the company said Monday.

Image: Novavax’s newest manufacturing head will join newly hired Chief Medical Officer Filip Dubovsky. (Novavax)