News Archive

Moving to advance its leadership in developing vaccines for important public health and biodefense needs, Vaxin Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Immune Targeting Systems (ITS) Ltd. Vaxin is a clinical stage vaccine development company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. ITS develops novel T-cell vaccines at its operations in the United Kingdom and France. The deal is an all-stock transaction and is subject to customary closing conditions. The combined company will be known as Vaxin Inc.

Crystal City-based Disruption Corp. is partnering with Maryland-based Greenspring Associates, a $3 billion fund of funds that backs some venture capital firms that actively invest in the region, including New Enterprise Associates, Revolution Growth and True Ventures.

Ashton Newhall, co-founder of Greenspring Associates, told me he believes Disruption and Greenspring are “philosophically aligned” on the possibilities of using data analytics to make sounder investments in startups and the private market broadly.

Enterprise Therapeutics Ltd, a drug discovery company focused on new therapeutics for respiratory diseases, today announced that it has secured £1.6m ($2.4m) in initial Series-A financing from Epidarex Capital. The proceeds will fund, in parallel, low molecular weight drug discovery and new target identification programs. The company will be based at the University of Sussex.

In today’s world, the average adult between the ages of 65 and 69 takes almost 14 prescriptions per year, and those aged 80-84 take 18 prescriptions. With the safety information for each medication constantly changing, it can be difficult for consumers to be informed about their medications.

This is a Request for Proposal to lease the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) facility located at the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR), on the University System of Maryland’s Shady Grove campus at 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD 20850.

IBBR is a University System of Maryland joint research enterprise between the University of Maryland College Park, The University of Maryland Baltimore and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. IBBR’s Vision and Mission are as follows:

Johns Hopkins University President Ronald Daniels has seen plenty of innovation at the world-renowned research institution he leads. In opening a second incubator in East Baltimore, university officials believe they can get another benefit from the innovation.

“It’s happened before at Hopkins and it’ll happen again,” Daniels said of inventions that come out of the university. “But this time, we’re going to make some money on it.”

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, a global biopharmaceutical company, announced that Sucampo and R-Tech Ueno, Ltd. (RTU), have entered into a stipulation and licence agreement with Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. (Par). The agreement states that in limited circumstances, Sucampo or RTU would grant Par a licence for a generic version of the RESCULA (unoprostone isopropyl ophthalmic solution) 0.15 per cent product approved for the lowering of intraocular pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension prior to the latest expiration date of the patents, which is July 2021. Par had previously submitted an Abbreviated New Drug Application to the US Food and Drug Administration requesting approval to market, sell, and use a generic version of RESCULA.

Maryland could establish a $5 million fund to put toward tax credits for individuals and firms who invest in startup companies.

Startup and investor advocates, including the Greater Baltimore Committee, have said they will push for the state to create a new tax credit specifically for angel investors who give money to companies at their earliest stages, when they often struggle to bring in needed cash. A bill introduced by Baltimore City Democrat Sen. Catherine Pugh earlier this month details how the tax credit would work and who could qualify as an investor and startup recipient.

Four University System of Maryland schools rank among the top 100 public universities in the country, according to a new statistical analysis by The Business Journals.

University of Maryland, College Park, scored highest among Maryland’s public universities, coming in at No. 8 out of 484 schools nationwide. St. Mary’s College of Maryland; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and Towson University also ranked in the top 100. Salisbury University ranked 107th.