News

02/22/2024

Don’t Miss These Spring Talent Events

We’ve compiled a calendar of events happening this spring aimed at connecting talented people in the biosciences. Feb. 27: Internship Support for Employers: V-TOP Staffing Agency + Matching Funds | Virtual Employers can tune in to learn more internship support through V-TOP’s partnership with iQuasar, the statewide staffing agency and how to utilize their matching funds

02/21/2024

SRI selected as spoke for both ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub and Investor Catalyst Hub

SRI has been selected by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to serve as a spoke within the Customer Experience Hub (CX Hub) and the Investor Catalyst Hub (IC Hub), as part of ARPANET-H, a nationwide health innovation network launched in September 2023. “Hundreds of organizations have been selected to join each network.

02/21/2024

ReAlta Life Sciences Announces Dosing of First Patient in Phase 2 Trial of RLS-0071 for Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc. (“ReAlta” or the “Company”), a mid-stage clinical biotech company dedicated to saving lives by rebalancing the inflammatory response to address life-threatening diseases, announced enrollment of the first patient in a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of RLS-0071, an investigational new drug based on ReAlta’s novel EPICC peptide

02/19/2024

Artificially capping drug prices will only stifle access, innovation

Alleviating high health care costs remains a top priority for Virginia lawmakers this legislative session. While addressing medication affordability and access concerns should remain a priority for everyone, any policy solution to do so must strike a balance between addressing affordability, preserving patient access to critical treatments and protecting Virginia’s leading life sciences innovation ecosystem.

02/14/2024

Call for Judges for Science Fair and BioGENEius Challenge

Each year, Virginia Bio recruits volunteer judges from the membership to attend the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair to select the top three winners in the field of biosciences. The time commitment is limited to a pre-event online review of the submissions to select the finalists and then a few hours onsite at the

02/12/2024

CEL-SCI Announces Pricing of $7.75 Million Public Offering of Common Stock

CEL-SCI Corporation (“CEL-SCI” or the “Company”) (NYSE American: CVM), a Phase 3 cancer immunotherapy company, today announced the pricing of an offering of 3,875,000 shares of its common stock at an offering price of $2.00 per share, for gross proceeds of $7.75 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses. All of the shares of

02/08/2024

Quoin Pharmaceuticals Files U.S. and International Patent Applications for Novel Netherton Syndrome Combination Product

Quoin Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: QNRX) (the “Company” or “Quoin”), a specialty pharmaceutical company exclusively focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies that treat rare and orphan diseases, today announced it has filed U.S. and International patent applications for a novel combination product as a potential treatment of Netherton Syndrome. This new product combines

02/05/2024

Serpin Pharma Secures $900,000 BIRD Foundation Grant for Clinical Trial in AMI Treatment

Serpin Pharma, a pioneering clinical-stage pharmaceutical company headquartered in Virginia, has been awarded a competitive $900,000 grant by the Bi-national Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation. The BIRD Foundation promotes collaborations between U.S. and Israeli companies in various technological sectors for joint product development This grant is designated for the advancement of a randomized controlled

01/30/2024

Virginia Bio-Connect – The Success of Virginia’s First Statewide Collaborative Life Sciences Initiative

The end of 2023 marked the completion of Virginia’s first statewide life sciences initiative, Virginia Bio-Connect, which started in April 2021. This comprehensive industry cluster strengthening project, supported by Virginia Growth and Opportunity Foundation funding and led by the Virginia Biotechnology Association, engaged thousands of life sciences professionals and hundreds of organizations and companies within

01/30/2024

Cerillo® Announces Partnership with Opentrons to Deliver Automated Microbiome Research Solutions

Cerillo®, a technology company developing advanced research platforms for microbiome studies, today announced a partnership with Opentrons Labworks, Inc., a leading force in lab automation. The collaboration not only grants researchers access to entry-level lab automation but also extends the reach of Cerillo’s comprehensive suite of microbiome research tools, fostering standardization and efficiency in laboratory

01/24/2024

Virginia Companies Expand into Global Markets through Commonwealth’s Trade Accelerator Program

Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced that 16 companies across the Commonwealth have graduated from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s (VEDP) Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program and 13 companies have joined the two-year program. VALET, which now has 391 graduated companies, assists Virginia exporters that have firmly established domestic operations and are committed to

01/18/2024

Children’s National Novel AI platform matches cardiologists in detecting rheumatic heart disease

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to detect rheumatic heart disease (RHD) with the same accuracy as a cardiologist, according to new research demonstrating how sophisticated deep learning technology can be applied to this disease of inequity. The work could prevent hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths around the world annually. Developed at Children’s National

01/18/2024

Adial Announces Appointment of Tony Goodman as Chief Operating Officer

Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADIL; ADILW) (“Adial” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for the treatment and prevention of addiction and related disorders, today announced the appointment of Tony Goodman as Chief Operating Officer. A highly accomplished pharmaceutical industry executive and member of Adial’s Board of Directors since 2017, Mr.

01/16/2024

Two Additional Organic Compliance Listings Obtained for AgroSpheres Novel Encapsulation Platform for Use in Organic Crop Production

AgroSpheres, Inc., an agricultural biobased solutions developer, recently received certificates attesting to the organic input compliance of its proprietary encapsulation technology, AgroSpheres® Microbially-Derived Minicells (also known as the AgriCell), and its formulated encapsulated thyme oil product, Thyme Oil 26% LC Biofungicide from the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI). OMRI, the leading certifier of organic inputs

01/16/2024

Caldic announces partnership with BIO-CAT to bring innovative probiotics to the Companion Animal Health and Nutrition industry

BIO-CAT, Inc., an industry leading probiotic manufacturer, has agreed to partner with global distribution solutions provider Caldic North America to bring their proprietary probiotic strains and OPTIFEED® branded solutions to the Companion Animal Health and Nutrition market in North America. This agreement secures a rapid go-to-market strategy for BIO-CAT, leveraging Caldic’s leadership position in the Companion

01/15/2024

Polykon Manufacturing LLC merges with Seppic Inc. and becomes Seppic Inc. Richmond

Since its opening in 2020 in Richmond, Virginia, the Polykon Manufacturing LLC facility has strengthened Seppic’s proximity to our North American customers and expanded our manufacturing capabilities. Effective January 1, 2024, Polykon Manufacturing LLC took the next step by merging with its parent company, Seppic Inc. This change brings consistency to the organization of Seppic’s

01/09/2024

Virginia Catalyst Announces Grant Round 15 Awarded Projects

The Virginia Catalyst, also known as the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC), today announced that it has awarded $2.2 million in grants to four life and bioscience projects in the Commonwealth of Virginia. These four collaborative projects, involving Virginia research universities and industry partners, were awarded through Virginia Catalyst Grant Round 15 to address

01/04/2024

Aditxt reaches deal to acquire maker of Phexxi

Aditxt, a biotech company based in Richmond, expects to purchase California-based contraceptive maker Evofem Biosciences for $100 million, taking on the business’s debt of up to $18 million, according to Aditxt’s announcement. Both companies’ boards have unanimously approved the acquisition, which is expected to close in the first half of the year. Evofem produces Phexxi,

01/03/2024

The proposed DRUG Act will spur innovation in biotech, and reduce costs

As the vibrant biotechnology and life sciences industry in Virginia flourishes, our mission at the Virginia Biotechnology Association remains steadfast: to promote innovation and growth through strengthened advocacy, talent attraction, development and retention while advancing the next generation of leaders. We succeed because Virginia encourages risk-takers to develop new health care and technology treatments. Virginia’s

01/03/2024

Bonumose’s Tagatose Certified As Plant-Based & Vegetarian

For the first time, tagatose has been certified as Plant-Based and Vegetarian. Tagatose is an ultra-low glycemic index sugar substitute found in tiny quantities in plants such as apples, pineapples, and the sap of a tree related to the cocoa tree. But because tagatose is found in nature is such small amounts, for commercial purposes

01/03/2024

ReAlta Life Sciences Strengthens Board of Directors with Appointment of Three Accomplished Biotechnology Executives

ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc. (“ReAlta” or the “Company”), a mid-stage clinical biotech company dedicated to saving lives by rebalancing the inflammatory response to address life-threatening diseases, announced the appointment of three seasoned biotechnology executives, Christi Shaw, Mert Aktar, and David Marek, to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. “We are delighted to welcome Christi Shaw,

12/20/2023

Virginia Biotechnology Association Announces the Election of Two New Board Members

The Virginia Bio Membership has elected two new Directors to the Virginia Bio Board. Joining the Board are Maria Clarke, Executive Director, J.P. Morgan Private Bank and Susan Mitchell, CEO of Athari Bio.  The new Directors’ 3-year terms will begin in April 2024. “Two years ago, we decided to expand our Board of Directors to

12/11/2023

$90 Million Investment to Launch “Virginia’s Research Triangle” Network Among at UVA, VA Tech and VCU

Governor Youngkin has announced that Virginia will make a significant investment to launch a biotechnology, life sciences, and pharmaceutical manufacturing network to foster collaboration among three of the Commonwealth’s major existing university research institutions. In his upcoming biennial budget, scheduled to be released on December 20th, the Governor will include a total of $90 million

12/05/2023

Industry Leader and Globally Recognized Patient Advocate John F. Crowley Appointed to Lead BIO as President & CEO

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) is proud to announce that industry leader and military veteran John F. Crowley will be its new President and CEO, effective March 4. He will replace Rachel King, a longtime BIO board member and industry trailblazer who has served as BIO’s CEO on an interim basis for the past year.