Industry News

RICHMOND, Va., (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cellf BIO, a biotechnology company that manufactures bioengineered sphincters using autologous progenitor cells, announced today that it has begun its Phase 1 clinical trial for its BioSphincter™ Implant for the treatment of severe passive fecal incontinence (FI). The FDA cleared the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application, and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) …

Phase 1/2 clinical trial of ZB131 to begin enrolling expansion cohorts in early 2023 CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., /PRNewswire/ — ZielBio, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering new treatments for cancer through its innovative drug discovery platform, has appointed Alan S. Bash as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer and member of the company’s Board of Directors. The appointment of …

Some start-ups can’t afford to build their own lab space or may only need lab space intermittently. Advocates believe that new lab space in Blacksburg and Roanoke will encourage economic development and entrepreneurship in the region. (Cardinal News, December 15, 2022) — The founders of Fermi Energy have an idea which, if it pans out, …

Richmond, VA, (Richmond Times Dispatch) – Chesterfield-based Indivior, already in the business of opioid addiction treatment, is branching into overdose protection. The global pharmaceutical company entered into an agreement to acquire Opiant Pharmaceuticals Inc. for a reported $145 million. Indivior is the company best known for producing Suboxone, a commonly used medication in treating opioid addiction. …

Established Industry Leader Rachel King will Serve as BIO’s Interim Leader WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) – the world’s largest science and public advocacy organization, representing 1,000 members — announced today that Rachel King, co-founder and former CEO of GlycoMimetics, Inc., has agreed to serve as interim President and CEO. King’s appointment follows Dr. Michelle …

The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) announced new grant funding totaling approximately $1.75 million to 24 Virginia small businesses through its Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF). CCF is a competitive program that seeks to fund high-potential, Virginia-based, for-profit technology companies at the pre-seed stage of commercialization and provides grants up to $75,000. Each award is matched …

The Virginia Catalyst, also known as the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC), announced that registration is open for the Catalyst Life Sciences Conference. The event will be held October 6-7, 2022 at the Omni Hotel in  Richmond, Virginia. This conference is designed for scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, incubators and biohubs, life science companies, technology transfer …

Roswell, GA and Greenville, SC – The Board of Directors of Southeast Life Sciences (SLS) has named Sam Konduros, Founder and President of Greenville-based SK Strategies, as Chief Executive Officer effective June 1, 2022. Mr. Konduros succeeds Jason Rupp in the leadership role, in which Mr. Rupp served from 2019 to 2022. Mr. Rupp’s tenure …

(WalletHub) – Innovation is a principal driver of U.S. economic growth. In 2022, the U.S. will spend nearly $600 billion on research and development — more than any other country in the world and more than 25% of the world’s total — helping the nation rank third on the Global Innovation Index. According to the results of …

Scientific equipment supplier will invest $97M in three new labs (Virginia Business) Massachusetts-based scientific equipment and software supply company Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will invest $97 million to expand its laboratory operations into three new locations in the Greater Richmond area, a project expected to create more than 500 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. …

Biotechnology Innovation Organization issued a statement in opposition to senate bill 376. The statement addressed to Richard L. Saslaw, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, explained the shortfalls of the proposed legislation and its negative impact on the innovation in bioscience. Read the entire statement below.   RE: BIO Statement in …

Activation Capital, a leading entrepreneurship and ecosystem development organization, announced the launch of a cluster accelerator to catalyze the growth of advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing and R&D in Central Virginia. A coalition of private-public entities from Greater Petersburg and Greater Richmond helped form the accelerator, secured $2.5M in seed funding from GO Virginia and others, and …

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) is planning a Women’s Health Consensus Conference (WHCC) in October 2021, in response to a Congressional request to address NIH research efforts related to women’s health research as well as the following specific conditions, rising maternal morbidity and mortality rates, increasing rates …

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) invites biometric technology developers to apply to participate in the 2021 Biometric Technology Rally. Started in 2018, the Biometric Technology Rally challenges industry to deliver fast, accurate, and easy-to-use biometric recognition capabilities to improve security and user facilitation at checkpoint processing. Building on …

The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) is establishing the framework for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health (ARPA-H) that was included in President Biden’s FY2022 budget. Modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), ARPA-H would tackle bold challenges requiring large-scale, cross-sector coordination, employing a non-traditional and nimble approach to high-risk …

RAMP is accepting applications are for their fall cohort to begin in September 2021. RAMP is looking for technology startups with scalability, and coachable entrepreneurs who have a desire to do the work. RAMP will select up to five companies for the 12-week cohort that provides: • Expert 1:1 mentoring with the region’s top entrepreneurs …

TTC is planning a technology opportunities webinar on July 13, 2021 from 11:00 am – noon, EST. Attendees will hear from the NCI’s Dr. Genoveffa Franchini about a new HIV vaccine with the potential to prevent HIV infection and treat HIV. The effectiveness of the new vaccine results from deletion of the V1 region from …

The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (VTCRC) in partnership with the Virginia Tech Foundation (VTF) has been awarded a grant from the GO Virginia program to fund the evaluation and design of new lab concepts to serve southwest Virginia’s growing life and health sciences industry. The award is part of the Enhanced Capacity Building program …

As reported on Roanoke.com within the final article of a three part series, Greg Feldmann, Executive Director and CEO of the Valleys Innovation Council shared insight about the area’s technology industry. Over the past couple of years Virginia has undertaken some important introspective studies that have helped the state identify its significant innovation assets, while …

You thought the Shark Tank was tough…wait until you enter the the BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap! Submit your application for the opportunity to be named the company with the most commercial potential at the 2020 BioHealth Regional Forum, $10,000, and MORE! Application Deadline: March, 20th 2020 Finalists will be announced: April 3rd, 2020 Finalist …

MedTech Innovator is the largest accelerator of medical devices in the world. We provide an unparalleled platform to support startups with the access, visibility, and network to bring their innovations to patients. Our alumni have raised over $2B in follow-on funding, brought 75 products to the market, and achieved 11 acquisitions. In its latest CipherBio report, …

A state panel has awarded nearly $300,000 to a nonprofit group that will coordinate efforts to enhance the technology ecosystem in the Roanoke, New River Valley and Lynchburg regions. The grant from the GO Virginia state board comes with $150,000 in matching funds from local supporters. The board also approved $100,000 for a study of …

Kevin Leslie has been named executive director of the new Hampton Roads Biomedical Research Consortium (HRBRC), a partnership between Old Dominion University, Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) and Sentara Healthcare. Recently approved by Gov. Ralph Northam and the General Assembly, the HRBRC aims to strengthen the relationship among the three institutions and to jump start …

BARDA has announced a new type of public-private partnership, BARDA Ventures , that will realize authorities granted in the 21st Century Cures Act to utilize venture capital (VC) methods and practices. This will be the first time HHS has utilized VC practices to make investments. As part of the new program, BARDA is soliciting proposals …