Company News

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 …

AgroSpheres, a biotechnology company pioneering breakthroughs in sustainable crop protection and crop health, today announced the signing of a major collaboration with FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC), a global leader in agriculture sciences. The long-term alliance represents a major milestone in launching AgroSpheres’ vertically integrated product pipeline. Powered by a recent $25M Series B funding round and construction …

The Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council’s TechNite 2024 presented by Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black, recognized all the elements that make the Roanoke-Blacksburg innovation ecosystem so dynamic. TechNite 2024 was held Wednesday, May, 8 at the iconic Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center. RBTC’s annual celebration is highly anticipated within the regional technology community, and hundreds of local and …

CEL-SCI Corporation, the Vienna, Virginia-based biotechnology company with operations in Baltimore, Wednesday received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to move forward on an investigational cancer immunotherapy study for its drug Multikine. The project will study the drug’s effectiveness in newly diagnosed advanced primary head and neck cancer patients with no lymph node …

Phlow Corp., a U.S.-based certified B Corporation leveraging advanced development and manufacturing processes to re-imagine the domestic production of pharmaceutical products critical to U.S. healthcare, announced today that it has appointed General Gustave F. Perna to the Phlow Business Advisory Board (PBAB). As America’s modern medicine manufacturer, Phlow works closely with its business advisory board, …

Caretaker Medical, a leading innovator in advanced hemodynamic monitoring solutions, today announced the launch of its VitalStream® Cardiogenic Shock Continuous Monitoring Roadmap at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2024 meeting. This roadmap aligns with the National Cardiogenic Shock Initiative[i] criteria and timelines, empowering clinicians with a streamlined approach to early identification, and …

The Board of Directors of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) has announced that it has unanimously selected Joe Benevento as President and CEO of VIPC. Benevento has led VIPC as Interim President and CEO since September 2023 and previously served as Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia since 2022. …

AMPEL BioSolutions has been selected as a member – or “spoke” – of the Customer Experience Hub of ARPANET-H, a prestigious nationwide health innovation network launched by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).  This national effort is designed to accelerate commercialization of health breakthroughs for populations that urgently need them. The Customer Experience Hub in Dallas joins Boston …

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust has found that 100% of IV leakage incidents were prevented by a proprietary patient monitoring system from ivWatch, which could potentially save patients the pain or discomfort of adverse IV events. The initial two-week phase of the study, which was published in the British Journal of Nursing, found that continuous …

Kaléo, a privately-held U.S. pharmaceutical company today announced their selection by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to develop the latest generation pralidoxime chloride auto-injector as a countermeasure against organophosphate or nerve agent poisoning. …

Activation Capital, an innovation ecosystem development organization, announced today that it has appointed Jim Pannucci, Ph.D., PMP as its Vice President of Entrepreneurship. As the new Vice President of Entrepreneurship, Dr. Pannucci will help Activation Capital continue to grow a deep talent base of life sciences entrepreneurs operating in the region and help empower them …

A local pharma company and player in a regional effort to build a pharmaceutical hub in Central Virginia has started manufacturing operations. Richmond-based Phlow Corp. recently began manufacturing ingredients used in medicines at a facility at 2818 N. Normandy Drive in Petersburg, according to Robby Demeria, the company’s chief corporate affairs officer. The 19,200-square-foot facility …

TearSolutions, Inc., a privately held biotech company developing potentially disruptive therapies for the treatment of Dry Eye Disease (DED) and other ocular surface related diseases, today announced that Louis M Alpern, MD, MPH, FACS, FICS has been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors. “Dr. Alpern brings extensive real-world clinical experience treating patients with ocular …