Company News

07/14/2021

Serpin Pharma Receives $1.25 M Award by The Virginia Catalyst Fund for COVID-19 Clinical Investigation

Serpin Pharma was selected to receive a $1.25 MM award from The Virginia Catalyst, also known as the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC), for conducting a clinical investigation for the therapeutic role of SP16 drug in mitigating SARS COV2 (COVID-19) progression in hospitalized patients. The Principal Investigator is Serpin Pharma’s collaborator, Dr. Michael Yun

07/12/2021

Governor Northam Grants $3.4 Million to Advance Research Commercialization

Governor Ralph Northam today announced that 34 small technology-focused businesses in Virginia will receive a total of $3.4 million in Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) grants to commercialize research in an array of sectors, including agricultural and environmental technologies, autonomous systems, clean energy, cybersecurity, data analytics, life sciences, and space and satellites. These awards mark the

07/06/2021

TruGenomix Wins Southeast Life Sciences SE Color Pitch

The first SE Color Pitch event, hosted by Southeast Life Sciences, was held on June 24, 2021, featuring top minority-led, early-stage life science companies from the southeast United States. The winner of the SE Color Pitch event, TruGenomix, which will receive the $10,000 prize, sponsored by Moderna. Presenting for TruGenomix was Charles Cathlin. CEO &

06/30/2021

ivWatch Names Kathy Cox as Chief Financial Officer

ivWatch, LLC, inventor of the first and only continuous IV infiltration detection technology, appointments Kathy Cox to Chief Financial Officer. With over 23 years of experience, including 15 years in the medical device manufacturing and healthcare markets, Cox will strengthen the ivWatch leadership team and will provide expertise in driving business growth and operational efficiencies.

06/29/2021

Johnson & Johnson Innovation Grant Aimed at Veteran Healthcare

A 2021 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that Veterans are significantly more likely to develop multiple chronic health conditions in their lifetime like hypertension, arthritis, and cancer compared to non-Veterans. [1] To help treat wounded warriors and keep the military community healthy, we feel we must seek to identify

06/29/2021

Agrospheres Seeks EPA Approval For Inert Ingredient

AgroSpheres, Inc. progresses toward a key milestone in reducing pesticide impact in the environment. The submission of AgroSpheres™ Inert ingredient to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in agriculture inputs will further the company’s objective to make biopesticides more effective and reduce the rates of synthetic pesticide application. When approved, this technology will

06/28/2021

CEL-SCI’s Multikine Phase 3 Study for Immunotherapy Results Released

CEL-SCI Corporation released results from its 9.5 year pivotal Phase 3 study for its immunotherapy Multikine® (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection)* in the treatment of advanced (stages III and IV) primary (previously untreated) squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). In the intent to treat (ITT) advanced primary SCCHN patients the study showed a statistically

06/24/2021

Children’s National Hospital joins pediatric health challenge led by Center for Advancing Innovation

Reinforcing its commitment to expanding innovation in pediatric care, Children’s National Hospital is joining with the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI), and collaborators Resonance Philanthropies and Digital Infuzion, to launch the 2021-2022 Innovate Children’s Health Challenge to encourage the commercialization of technologies that improve children’s health care. This year’s event, Innovate Children’s Health II, focuses

06/21/2021

Babylon Micro-Farms Gets $1M Grant from NSF

Babylon Micro-Farms has received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, with the potential for $750,000 more in follow-on funding. The grant money will go towards further development of BabylonIQ, the company’s platform that remotely manages its distributed network of farms. This grant follows a 2019 Phase 1 grant of $225,000, also from

06/16/2021

BIO-CAT Partners with Kerry for Global Distribution of OPTI-BIOME MB40 Probiotic

BIO-CAT, Inc. has formed a global partnership with Kerry, the Taste & Nutrition company and their BIO-CAT Microbials, LLC probiotic products division. Effective June 2021, Kerry will lead the sales, marketing, and distribution of BIO-CAT’s proprietary probiotic strain, OPTI-BIOME MB40®. OPTI-BIOME MB40® (Bacillus subtilis ATCC122264) is a non-GMO, highly-stable probiotic strain that the company says

06/15/2021

CareTaker Medical and Embody Named to MedTech Innovator Top 50 Startups

MedTech Innovator, the largest accelerator of medical device companies in the world, selected 50 companies to participate in the organization’s flagship four-month Showcase and Accelerator program, featuring the industry’s most transformative device, diagnostic, and digital health technologies from around the globe. These up-and-coming startups will receive unparalleled visibility and access to leading manufacturers, providers, investors,

06/10/2021

Understanding Barcode Verifier Discrepancies

An ISO compliant, recently recalibrated barcode verifier is arguably the best and only effective defense against barcode quality-related liability. What about barcode verifier discrepancies? There are two types of verifier discrepancies: • Inconsistency of a single verifier • Inconsistency between two or more verifiers This article focuses on the second type. A familiar scenario in

06/09/2021

NIH Awards Vibrent Health Contract to Create a New Paradigm for Pandemic Preparedness and Response

The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded Vibrent Health, a digital health technology company powering the future of precision health research, the second phase of a contract to validate COVID-CARE, a digital health solution for pandemic response. The web and mobile application will enable fast and accurate screening, automated test

06/08/2021

GPB Scientific Gets $18M Infusion

As reported online by Richmond BizSense, GPB Scientific closed on an $18 million funding round. The money will help the company roll out its Curate cell processing system, which separates and extracts cells from blood samples to create therapies for cancer and other diseases. Funding came by way of Amgen Ventures and Vensana Capital (firms

06/08/2021

ReAlta Life Sciences Receives $3.2 Million Grant from Virginia Catalyst to Accelerate Trial for the Treatment of Acute Lung Injury Due to COVID-19

ReAlta Life Sciences has received a $3.2 million grant award from The Virginia Catalyst, also known as the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC), to accelerate the Company’s Phase 1b clinical trial evaluating RLS-0071 for the treatment of acute lung injury (ALI) due to COVID-19. The award, which is granted to Virginia companies to support

05/26/2021

Southern Spine Announces John E. Hart as President and Chief Executive Officer

Southern Spine, LLC, an ISO 13485:2003 certified manufacturer of implants and instruments for spinal surgery, announced that John E Hart has been named as President and Chief Executive Officer to lead the company. Hart has more than 35 years of executive leadership experience in the medical device, life science and biologics fields serving in general

05/25/2021

CIT Announces Key Additions to GAP Funds Investment Team

The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), the nonprofit operations arm of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA), announced that CIT GAP Funds has added two new Investment Associates to its team: Dustin Dunbar and Anthony Obi Jr. As Investment Associates, Dunbar, and Obi will support CIT GAP Funds activity including deal sourcing and due diligence

05/25/2021

Are you a medical professional? KinergyCare needs your help!

KinergyCare is a Virginia-based startup and a Virginia Bio member that is requesting feedback from this community on a care coaching and coordination approach that focuses on the needs of patients with cardiovascular disease. We’re pioneering a new approach that combines patient data on health capabilities with a personalized intervention based on behavioral science. The result should

05/18/2021

ReAlta Life Sciences Expands Phase 1 Clinical Trial of RLS-0071

ReAlta Life Sciences (“ReAlta”), Inc., a company addressing life-threatening diseases through harnessing the power of the immune system, today announced that it has received a no objection letter (NOL) from Health Canada to an Amendment of the Company’s Phase 1 clinical trial of RLS-0071 in healthy volunteers. The study design has been modified to add

05/18/2021

Children’s National spinout AlgometRx developed a device that measures pain

A longtime pediatric anesthesiologist at Children’s National Hospital, Dr. Julia Finkel has long wanted a more objective way to measure how much pain patients are feeling. “For pain, we do it very empirically,” Dr. Finkel said. “The patient says they hurt, we give them a drug. They either feel better or they don’t…It’s done in

05/17/2021

Landos Biopharma and LianBio Announce Exclusive Collaboration and License Agreement

Landos Biopharma, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of therapeutics for patients with autoimmune diseases, and LianBio, a biotechnology company dedicated to bringing paradigm-shifting medicines to patients in China and other major Asian markets, today announced an exclusive collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialization of omilancor and NX-13

05/10/2021

Landos Biopharma Announces First Patient Dosed in a Phase 2 Study of Omilancor for Crohn’s Disease

Landos Biopharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of therapeutics for patients with autoimmune diseases, announced that the Company has dosed the first patient in a Phase 2 study of omilancor, Landos’ novel, orally administered, gut-restricted LANCL2 agonist, for the treatment of moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease (CD). “We are extremely proud of

05/07/2021

BIO-CAT Grows in Zion Crossroads

BIO-CAT, Inc., a biotechnology company that specializes in enzymes and other advanced microbial solutions, plans to add at least 30,000 square feet to its fermentation facilities in Zion Crossroads. The expansion is projected to start in 2022. The company will add several new jobs and is considering building another 30,000-square-foot section in a second phase.

05/06/2021

Contraline, Inc. Expands Board of Directors

Contraline, Inc., a venture-backed medical device company devoted to providing men and couples with long-lasting, safe, and effective male contraception, has appointed medical device industry executive Martin Emerson to its Board of Directors.