Company News

Many ingredients that make up the pharmaceuticals Americans rely on are manufactured overseas. When supply chain issues or shortages occur, as witnessed during the COVID pandemic, it can negatively impact millions of Americans and affect national security. The White House issued an Executive Order in 2022 to stimulate U.S. biomanufacturing. Increasing American biomanufacturing, will provide …

Governor Glenn Youngkin  announced that 11 companies across the Commonwealth have graduated from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s (VEDP) Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program and 14 companies have joined the two-year program. VALET, which now has 402 graduated companies, assists Virginia exporters that have firmly established domestic operations and are committed to international …

The Virginia Biotechnology Research Park Authority Board appointed Robert Ward as interim president and chief executive officer of Activation Capital, an innovation ecosystem development organization, effective today. Ward is a senior executive with over 25 years of experience leading organizations, driving strategy and innovation, developing high performing teams and executing complex transactions. Ward has served …

Nancy Howell Agee, who led Carilion through more than a decade of transformative change, will step down as CEO Sept. 30. Steve Arner, who was promoted to president in May 2023, will succeed Agee and become president and CEO Oct. 1. The leadership transition comes after Agee’s long and distinguished career at Carilion, beginning as …

AMPEL BioSolutions, with collaborators Lupus Therapeutics and Aker Biomarine, revealed peer-reviewed results that supplementation with Omega3-rich Krill Oil improves disease activity of autoimmune Lupus patients. Omega3 lipids called polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are found in microscopic shrimp-like crustaceans called Krill from the waters around Antarctica are key to maintaining a low inflammatory state.  Some …

Two privately held specialty chemical firms that provide high-purity materials and services for chemical applications, from renewable energy to food and beverages and consumer safety, are combining their capabilities to serve new and expanding precision markets. IV Labs Inc., the parent company of Inorganic Ventures, has acquired PURE Analytical Laboratories, one of the few companies that …

BrightSpec, the market leader in Molecular Rotational Resonance (MRR) spectroscopy solutions, announced the appointment of two new executives to drive the commercialization of their growing portfolio of precision instruments and analytical tools. BrightSpec develops and commercializes instruments that harness the power of MRR spectroscopy, an innovative approach to rapidly and definitively characterize the unique three-dimensional …

BIO-CAT, an industry-leading enzyme supplier headquartered in Virginia, is excited to announce the publication of a groundbreaking safety clinical trial manuscript featuring its proprietary ingredient, OPTIZIOME® Inulinase  (now marketed as OPTIZIOME® Fructanase), in Gastro Hep Advances. Fructanase, also known as inulinase, was developed to address the unintended consequences of digestive discomfort from certain foods, more …

ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc., a mid-stage clinical biotech company dedicated to saving lives by rebalancing the inflammatory response to address life-threatening diseases,  announced the appointment of Emma Reeve to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. “We are very pleased to welcome Emma Reeve to our Board of Directors,” said Buzz Heidt, Chairman of ReAlta’s Board …

CEL-SCI Corporation announced that Robert (“Bob”) Watson, who has served as a Director of the Company since 2017, has been appointed Chairperson of the Board. Bob is an accomplished business leader who began his career as an investment banker. With over four decades of experience across various healthcare markets, Bob brings extensive expertise in capital …

Contraline, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has announced promising initial safety and efficacy results from its First-in-Human clinical trial. The trial, which is evaluating the safety and preliminary efficacy of Contraline’s ADAM™, a non-permanent male contraceptive, has had its first patients demonstrate 12 months of efficacy in the study. ADAM™ is a water-soluble, biocompatible, and non-permanent …

Chandra Briggman is exiting her role as president and CEO of Richmond’s Activation Capital. The independent authority of Virginia that promotes research, commercialization and innovation ecosystem development in the Richmond region said Monday that Briggman is leaving “to pursue new opportunities to build innovation ecosystems and drive economic development.” She’s been in the role a …

Roquette, a global leader in plant-based ingredients and a leading provider of pharmaceutical excipients, and Bonumose, a pioneer in enzymatic solutions for rare monosaccharide production, are pleased to announce the signing of a Cooperation Agreement that aims to advance the development of tagatose, a natural-origin sweetener with clinically proven health benefits. This collaboration combines Roquette’s …

The Virginia Catalyst, also known as the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC), today announced that it has awarded $3.18 million in grants to four life and bioscience projects in the Commonwealth of Virginia. These grants, which will be met with significant matching funds from partner companies, were awarded through Grant Round 16. “Powerful collaborations …

Quoin Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a clinical stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on rare and orphan diseases,  announced that it will expand its ongoing Netherton Syndrome clinical studies to include international sites. The first international site will be opened at a research hospital in Saudi Arabia. This hospital is currently treating a number of Netherton patients who …

PAK BioSolutions announced that it has raised $12M from Arboretum Ventures, BroadOak Capital Partners, and other investors to expand commercial and product development efforts for its line of automated continuous manufacturing systems for biologics. The PAK Pilot System is capable of processing 50-500L of cell culture per day, addressing a major segment of the biopharmaceutical …

Quoin Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: QNRX) (the “Company” or “Quoin”), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on rare and orphan diseases, today announced that it has signed a research agreement with The School of Pharmacy at University College Cork, Ireland. The scope of the agreement encompasses the development of novel topical formulations of Rapamycin (sirolimus) as potential …

KeViRx, Inc., an innovative, early-stage pharmaceutical company, announced today the receipt of $1.99 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program. This grant funding will allow KeViRx to advance its first-in-class small molecule platform technology, KVX-053, toward IND for pulmonary microvascular leakage and inflammation during acute lung injury …

A tighter venture capital market has affected more than the funding biotechs receive. It’s also changed how early-stage companies structure CEO pay packages, according to Leslie Loveless, CEO and managing partner of Slone Partners, a life sciences and healthcare executive search firm. Because of how funding dipped, she told BioSpace, early-stage biotechs started tying CEO …

AMPEL BioSolutions is recruiting individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) into an observational study of its blood-based prognostic gene expression assay LuGene to demonstrate a correlation between test results and standard clinical evaluations. In addition, the company has been conducting a study to see whether different lupus subtypes as defined by its test correlate with …

NIRSense Inc., headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, won an expansion to a competitively-awarded contract this month to build fieldable physiology monitors for the US Navy. NIRSense has been working with the Department of Defense since 2019 to build medical-grade physiology monitors to support US warfighter safety, performance, and medical care in training and operations. “NIRSense has …

Activation Capital announces the launch of Frontier BioHealth, an educational and support program designed to provide highly specialized training, targeted mentorship, and relationship building to help scale pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and health-focused consumer products companies. The inaugural four-month program will be critical in bringing research-intense products and companies to market. It will broaden the …

SRI’s Targeted Antigen Loaded Liposomes (TALL) — a treatment that expands the benefits of immunotherapy such as check-point inhibitors — has been granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA). As a result, SRI’s future strategic partners can gain tax credits for qualified clinical trials and potentially receive market exclusivity …

Nanochon, a Washington, DC-based orthopedic device biotech company has raised $4 million in its series seed prime fundraising round. The round was led by The University of Virginia Licensing and Ventures Group Seed Fund, with participation from Cultivate (MD), Alumni Venture Group, and Mountain State Capital, among others. Nanochon intends to use the funds to …