News

Governor Glenn Youngkin has announced the approval of over $66 million in state grants for four projects in the Biotechnology, Life Sciences, and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Cluster that will help the BioHealth Capital Region continue to flourish as a top national biohub.

These initiatives are aimed at creating job opportunities, raising wages, and promoting economic growth throughout the Commonwealth. Governor Youngkin hopes that by accelerating the growth of the life sciences industry, Virginia will become a leading state in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, and improve economic opportunities in what are sometimes considered the BioHealth Capital Region’s “pocket hubs”.

Maryland business dedicated to developing telehealth solutions for remotely monitoring patients with eye and brain diseases

COLUMBIA, Md. (February 16, 2023) – TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) investment of $150,000 into JuneBrain Inc., an organization focused on creating new ways for physicians to remotely monitor their patients.

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE: EBS) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its travel health business to Bavarian Nordic (BVNRY) for a total value of up to $380 million, including potential future milestone payments. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Bavarian Nordic will acquire the rights to VIVOTIF®, indicated for the active immunization to prevent typhoid fever, and VAXCHORA®, indicated for the active immunization to prevent cholera, as well as the development-stage chikungunya vaccine candidate CHIKV VLP. Bavarian Nordic will also acquire Emergent’s manufacturing site in Bern, Switzerland, and development facilities in San Diego, California. Approximately 280 current Emergent employees are expected to join Bavarian Nordic as part of the transaction.

• If approved by the FDA, NARCAN Nasal Spray will be the first 4 mg naloxone nasal spray switched from prescription status to over-the-counter use

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  Today, Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee and the Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee have unanimously voted in favor (a total of 19 votes) that the benefit-risk profile of NARCAN® (naloxone HCl) Nasal Spray is supportive of its use as a nonprescription opioid overdose reversal agent. Emergent presented an overview of its over-the-counter (OTC) development program, the medical need, Human Factors study data and seven years of post-marketing safety data. The FDA is not bound by the committees’ guidance but will take its advice into consideration.

The commitment and mission of growing the BioHealth Capital Region is being continued with new board member

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, February 14, 2023 – The Board of Directors of BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) unanimously approved the appointment of Dr. Michael Friedlander, Vice President for Health Sciences & Technology, Virginia Tech, to its Board of Directors. The BioHealth Innovation Board of Directors is a distinguished group of accomplished and respected leaders committed to the BioHealth Capital Region. Their wealth of experience and expertise provides invaluable guidance and support to BHI’s mission of translating market-relevant research into commercial success by connecting management, funding, and markets.

Modified agreement also includes the development of an updated vaccine in fall 2023

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, today announced a modification to its existing agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the Department of Defense, to deliver up to 1.5 million doses of the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted (NVX-CoV2373). This agreement will maintain the U.S. public’s access to Novavax’ vaccine and support the development of smaller dose vials, strain selection in line with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendations, and a smooth transition to the commercial market.

By Sarah Ellinwood with contributions by Mark Nardone, Chris Frew, Sean Rae, Laura Frew, Jeff Caskey, and Heather Mudrick February 9, 2023

If you have lab experience and are looking to break out into industry or biotech, chances are you might be wondering what skills will make you competitive.

BioBuzz consulted with our colleagues, our expert recruiters at our sister company, Workforce Genetics, as well as perused scientist job listings to see what technical skills are in high demand.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

ATTN Awardees: #DYK that #NIAsbir has #Entrepreneurs-in-Residence? Our #EIRs, Diane Ignar, Ph.D., R.Ph., and John P. Reinhart, CPA, M.B.A., bring unique expertise and experience from the field. They provide innovator planning support, business development guidance, and more to #SBIR #STTR awardees. Learn more and connect with an #EIR today: bit.ly/3Ov55gH #NIAFunded

I want to share our team at NSF’s $60 M initiative focused on driving more research translation out of universities, with a specific focus on universities with high research output but lower levels of research translation.

Accelerating Research Translation (ART) Program will provide institutions of higher education with $6 M (over 4 years) to:

• Create the necessary capacity and infrastructure to increase the speed and scale at which they translate technologies from lab to market
• Flexible seed funds to support promising projects with clear translational potential (up to 50% of budget)
• Develop training opportunities — especially for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers — to become entrepreneurs and/or seek translational research-oriented careers in the public and private sectors

First informational webinar is on February 21, 2023. RSVP here: https://nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_N-mFOgtjSkijCuOI7orPvw

Full program announcement: https://beta.nsf.gov/news/new-60-million-nsf-program-aims-increase-speed

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Many parties are involved when a life sciences startup is raising capital. This program will explore strategic and tactical considerations of equity financing for life sciences companies from the legal, investor, and start up perspectives. The panel discussion will cover investor outreach, presentation materials and potential sources and types of equity capital.

The panelists will also explore how to raise equity at various stages of the company’s life cycle, and how navigate fundraising hurdles such as the due diligence process, costs and commonly negotiated terms.