The Trump administration has chosen their drug and vaccine development czar to head up the R&D side of the Covid-19 attack plan, but it’s not Elias Zerhouni.
While Zerhouni — the ex-NIH and ex-Sanofi vet — figured in the headlines as the lead candidate for that spot, Politico and other news outlets are reporting that the administration will tap ex-GSK exec Moncef Slaoui for that role.
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mdgovpics/31274821010/
The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) office building complex in Herndon has sold for $47.35 million, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday.
The Virginia Department of General Services (DGS) sold the property Thursday to affiliates of Chicago-based Origami Capital Partners LLC and Timberline Real Estate Partners in a transaction that closed Thursday. Located at 2214 Rock Hill Road, the 149,000-square foot building sits on 26 acres located approximately 3 miles from Washington Dulles International Airport. The complex housed the CIT, the Northern Virginia Technology Council and private technology firms.
Image: Former Center for Innovative Technology building in Herndon. Photo courtesy Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.
The lack of treatment options for COVID-19 patients, potential promise in repurposing drugs, and controversy surrounding the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine have created a storm of questions about the drug’s efficacy that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is ready to answer. To do that, the organization is sponsoring a large randomized, controlled clinical trial to determine whether hydroxychloroquine, given in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death due to COVID-19.
Image: Hydroxychloroquine freebase molecule – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxychloroquine
The NCI Board of Scientific Advisors has approved concepts for an RFA and an RFP to support research in serological testing.
The plan presented to BSA May 12 is intended to distribute $306 million in new money the institute received “to develop, validate, improve, and implement serological testing and associated technologies” under the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (P.L. 116-139).
At North Dakota State this semester, I took a course titled “Economics of Entrepreneurship”. It was a deep dive into economic theory with a focus on entrepreneurship. Throughout the course, it surprised me how often I was able to connect anecdotes from sports to the various theories we were learning about. When it came time to write a research paper for the semester, I was able to take an in-depth look at the relation between economic theory and MLB front offices, especially since Billy Beane. Following a few excerpts from what I wrote, I’ll take a look at the Levine-Falvey administration in this context.
ROCKVILLE, Md., May 15, 2020—Supported by a special appropriation by the Council, the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) has awarded 25 local businesses with funds totaling $200,000 for the manufacture of Covid-19-related personal protective equipment (PPE).
Councilmember Hans Riemer initiated the appropriation and partnered with MCEDC to create the Local Production Fund. MCEDC administers the fund and matched the Council’s $100,000 appropriation with $100,000 from their budget.
Image: http://councilmemberriemer.com
TOPLINE Public vaccine company Novavax announced today that it will receive up to $388 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) to continue development and manufacturing of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
Silicon Valley Super Angel Angel Investor, Dr. Faz Bashi, M.D., joins BioTalk from the West Coast to discuss the Venture Capital, partnerships and staying connected in the age of COVID-19
Dr. Faz Bashi, M.D., has a background in Immunology and Virology from UCSF. Faz is an active member of the LSA screening committee for Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals as well as the Medical Device + Digital Health Screening Committee. He is the Emeritus Board member of the Angel Capital Association (ACA), and Chair of the ACA’s Life Sciences Syndication Group, and Affiliate Partner at Boston Millennia Partners and Lead Venture Investor at Portfolia’s FemTech Fund
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on both government and business operations, under the authority of executive order, the Maryland Department of Commerce (Commerce) has delayed the application process for the FY21 BIITC until mid-August 2020. BIITC provides an income tax credit equal to 50% (more in certain locations) of an eligible investment in a QMBC up to $250,000 for each QMBC per fiscal year. Total credits issued during the fiscal year cannot exceed the budget amount and are, therefore, issued on a first come basis. The credit is refundable if the investor has no Maryland income tax liability. Please stay tuned to the Commerce website for updates regarding the new application system and dates.
Rockville, Maryland’s Fina Biosolutions recently was awarded an SBIR grant to develop a genetically detoxified tetanus toxin as a carrier protein for conjugate vaccines. The NIAID funded grant is for $289,000 and will use a mutant toxin engineered by Dr. Joseph Barbieri of the Medical College of Wisconsin. FinaBio’s Scientific Director, Andrew Lees, noted “We are very appreciative of the help from BHI in securing this grant which will help us to commercialize a new genetically detoxified vaccine carrier protein that complements our existing conjugate vaccine portfolio.” FinaBio has created an E. coli strain with an oxidative intracellular environment that grows to very high densities and can express soluble disulfide bonded proteins. The mutant tetanus toxin will be produced in this E. coli strain and compared as vaccine carrier protein with the chemically detoxified protein. Fina Bio received assistance from Biohealth Innovation (BHI) in preparing the SBIR grant application through its Federal Funding Assistance program.
