Are you a biohealth start-up in Maryland, DC or Virginia seeking feedback on your biohealth business idea, pitch deck, or commercialization plan? Schedule your feedback session with BHI EIRs through video conference on one of the following dates: 4/22, 5/20. (45 minute blocks of time beginning at 9:00 in the morning.)
Pre-registration is required; sign up here:
For questions/more information, contact BHI.
In these uncertain times, we are proud to have so many BioHealth Capital Region federal, state, local and private sector organizations focused on combatting COVID19. Please use these links to stay abreast of the last news and resources available for your business.
Maryland
US Small Business Administration
Sean M. Kirk, Executive Vice President, Manufacturing and Technical Operations at Emergent BioSolutions joins Rich Bendis to discuss the COVID-19 Health Crisis, Emergent’s Capabilities in Manufacturing in the BioHealth Capital Region and Beyond
Mr. Kirk joined Emergent BioSolutions in 2003 and has served as executive vice president, manufacturing and technical operations since April 2019. Prior to this position, Mr. Kirk has held various senior leadership roles including senior vice president, manufacturing operations and contract development and manufacturing operations (CDMO) business unit lead from April 2017 to March 2019, senior vice president, biodefense operations from November 2015 to March 2017, senior vice president, biosciences operations from February 2014 to November 2015 and senior vice president, biodefense vaccines and therapeutics development from March 2012 to February 2014. Mr. Kirk also served in multiple roles of increasing responsibility at Emergent’s manufacturing operations site in Lansing, Michigan.
Before joining Emergent, Mr. Kirk worked at Merial, a multinational animal health company, serving in various positions from 1996 to 2001. Mr. Kirk received both an M.B.A. and B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Georgia.
New Members Continue GSK and NEA’s commitment to the BHI mission and the BioHealth Capital Region
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, April 6, 2020 – The Board of Directors of BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) unanimously approved the appointments of two new board members, Rebecca Farkas, PhD, Director, External R&D, Scientific Collaborations at GSK, and Sara Nayeem, M.D., Partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA). BHI’s leadership also thanked outgoing Board of Directors members Rip Ballou of GSK and David Mott of NEA for their contributions to the organization and friendship of many years.
“I am honored to welcome both Rebecca and Sara to our Board of Directors,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President and CEO. “They both bring a combination of experience and fresh vision to our already robust collection of industry leaders. We are excited to to work with them to help grow the BioHealth Capital Region industry cluster.”
Immunomic Therapeutics Inc. is pivoting, as many are, in this new era to work on a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. But it’s also pursuing goals that would be considered ambitious even before the world changed: It’s closing in on a $50 million raise, advancing its brain cancer program — and positioning itself for an initial public offering.
The Rockville vaccine maker secured the first $10 million of this latest fundraising round at the end of January from Korean investment group HLB, and it expects to close on another $40 million-plus in the next couple of weeks, said Bill Hearl, founder and CEO of ITI. That capital would support the immuno-oncology company’s therapy for glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, now heading into a phase 2 clinical trial after a successful phase 1 study that extended the typical 14- to 16-month median survival rate to 41 months.
Image: Bill Hearl is CEO and founder of Immunomic Therapeutics in Rockville. COURTESY IMMUNOMIC THERAPEUTICS
Not long ago, working from home was an option for some of us.
Today, it’s the norm for nearly all of us.
Unless your job absolutely requires you to be on the front lines, the coronavirus pandemic has caused us all to set up home offices and social distance ourselves from coworkers and clients alike.
That shift has likely carried some stumbling blocks, something even the most seasoned remote worker can attest to.
Image: https://www.bizjournals.com
GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca are considering forming a joint laboratory to help the U.K. government stretch and expand its supplies for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Even though diagnostics are not their core efforts, the plan is for the two Big Pharmas to test a range of different reagents, chemical mixtures and other materials for new ways to help detect the spreading novel coronavirus. Successes would be provided to other manufacturers or the U.K.’s National Health Service.
Image: Global supplies of testing reagents and other materials, including swabs, have been faced with overwhelming demand in recent weeks. (NIAID – Rocky Mountain Laboratories)
On April 3rd, 2020, DLA Piper and BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) presented an overview of the key provisions for BioHealth Capital Region Life Sciences companies in the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act stimulus package via webinar.
The hour-long review and discussion was recorded and is NOW AVAILABLE to access online.
We’re currently tracking 95 potential treatments and 52 potential vaccines in the pipeline to combat hashtag#COVID19.
There are thousands of researchers all over the world racing to get a treatment or vaccine to market.
The NIH is deeply concerned for the health and safety of people involved in NIH research, and about the effects on the biomedical enterprise in the areas affected by the HHS declared public health emergency for COVID-19. Due to the potential exceptional impact, we want to assure our recipient community that NIH will be doing our part to help you continue your research.
