About two years ago, the STEM2VA Program kicked off to provide internship opportunities for Virginia students within the life sciences sector on one side and to facilitate the recruitment process and offset some costs for the employers on another. The program was part of the Virginia Bio-Connect project funded by the GO Virginia grant initiative. …

Phlow Corp., a Public Benefit Corporation,  announced that it has joined a select group of purpose-driven businesses by becoming the first pharmaceutical manufacturer based in America to earn B Corporation™ (B Corp™) certification. The new certification further emphasizes Phlow’s commitment to improving access and availability of domestically produced, high-quality pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients through …

ATCC, the world’s premier biological materials management and standards organization, today announced a seven-year contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to continue the management of the BEI Resources Program. NIAID has made an initial award of over $21.5 million, with further funding …

Acclinate, an expert in health equity through inclusive research, is collaborating with Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, to help increase participation by members of the Black/African American community in Merck’s oncology clinical studies. “We’re proud to be working with Merck because being a champion for health equity through inclusive research …

cultivate(MD) Capital Funds LP, funds that are focused on investments into early-stage medical device companies with innovative technologies, announced today that they have made a significant investment into Nanochon, a Washington, D.C.—based regenerative cartilage innovator. Nanochon develops solutions utilized by sports medicine physicians to treat active patients requiring cartilage restoration.  Nanochon’s Chondrograft™ replaces lost or damaged …

AgroSpheres, a biotechnology company pioneering breakthroughs in sustainable crop protection, today announced the closing of its Series B funding round with a strategic investment from FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC), a global leader in agriculture sciences. This investment brings the total funding in AgroSpheres’ Series B round to $25 million, demonstrating the strong confidence in the …

Biomedical innovation has brought hope to patient communities across the country and transformed Virginia’s local life sciences industry. Yet, in attempts to lower costs of prescription drugs, federal lawmakers continue to push for policies that would weaken intellectual property (IP) protections and deplete much-needed future investments in innovation. Virginia is a national leader in medical …

Children’s National Hospital was selected as a spoke for the Investor Catalyst Hub, a regional hub of ARPANET-H, a nationwide health innovation network launched by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The Investor Catalyst Hub seeks to accelerate the commercialization of groundbreaking and accessible biomedical solutions. It uses an innovative hub-and-spoke model designed to reach a …

The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) today announced that PS-Fertility, Inc. has been awarded a Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) grant for $75,000. VIPC’s CCF programs have distributed more than $53 million to Virginia-based startups, entrepreneurs, and university-based inventors since 2012 in support of critical early technology testing and market validation efforts. PS Fertility has also …

The Virginia Catalyst, also known as the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC), announced that it is accepting letters of intent (LOI) for Grant Round 16 to fund the development and commercialization of life science projects that address major unmet needs for improving human health and advance Virginia’s economy. “We are proud to continue supporting …

RIVANNA®, developers of world-first, imaging-based medical solutions, announced they received a $2.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant will further the development of Accuro® 3S, designed for image-guided regional anesthesia, to broaden access to opioid-sparing analgesia for hip fracture pain. Each year, over 330,000 Americans face hospitalization due to hip …

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 Robert Dempsey has been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors. “Robert is a proven industry leader with extensive and highly relevant experience in Ophthalmology and DED,” …

BRAINBox Solutions today announced initial investments into the company’s Series B financing to support U.S. regulatory clearance and initial commercialization of its BRAINBox TBI concussion diagnostic/prognostic test in adults and completion of a clinical study in pediatric patients. Genoa Ventures is leading the financing, which includes other current and new investors. “We have made significant …

ATCC and U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), two premier materials management and standards organizations, announced the launch of their first set of joint products to advance the quality control and reduce the risk in the manufacturing of biological therapies and vaccines. This initial set of six products consists of highly characterized and pure genomic DNA (gDNA) from cell …

Boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have a clinically proven, new treatment option with the Food and Drug Administration’s approval Thursday of vamorolone, a steroidal-type, anti-inflammatory drug developed based on research performed at Children’s National Hospital. Created by ReveraGen BioPharma Inc., vamorolone has a molecular structure similar to traditional corticosteroids, which are currently used to …

Ceres Nanosciences (Ceres), a privately held company that makes innovative products to improve life science research and diagnostic testing, is announcing the establishment of five new wastewater-based epidemiology centers of excellence at the Houston Health Department, Morgan State University, the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory, the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa, and the …

In 1988, Ed Schuler and his son, Chris Schuler, along with their business associate, Brian Huffman, embarked on a remarkable journey by founding BIO-CAT, Inc. in Keswick, Virginia. Operating out of Ed’s house and Brian’s barn, they began their venture with a single 20-kilogram blender, a few exhaust fans to control dust, and a small shed …

ivWatch, LLC, the IV safety company, today announced it has entered into a distribution agreement with Marathon Medical Corp., a medical supply distribution company and service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) focused on providing a range of medical products to Federal healthcare agencies. ivWatch’s patient monitoring technology helps protect patients from unpredictable IV complications with early …

LumaCyte, a leading innovator in advanced single cell analysis technology and instrumentation, is proud to announce the launch of their newly redesigned flagship Radiance® instrument to meet growing demand for Laser Force Cytology™ (LFC) precision analytics in space-constrained biomanufacturing facilities. The half-sized compact design is new, occupying only 16 inches of bench space, but the …

ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc. (“ReAlta” or the “Company”), a mid-stage clinical biotech company focused on harnessing the power of the immune system to address life-threatening diseases, today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a Phase 2 clinical trial of RLS-0071 in patients with acute exacerbations …

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) selected two projects in Virginia as part of the first phase of EDA’s Regional Tech Hubs Program. The Tech Hubs Program, made possible by the CHIPS and Science Act, bipartisan legislation strongly supported by both senators, aims to strengthen U.S. economic and national security by investing in regions across the country that …

The U.S. Department of Energy has just announced the selection of Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility as the lead for its new High Performance Data Facility Hub. Jefferson Lab will partner with DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to form a joint project team led by Jefferson Lab. The HPDF will be a $300-500 million computing …

Rare diseases, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), refer to some 10,867 medically significant conditions, each with a prevalence of one or less per 1,000 individuals. With only about 8% of them being treatable,1 rare diseases include congenital malformations, autoimmune disorders, lysosomal storage disorders, thalassemia, muscular dystrophies, and infrequent forms of cancer and …

The 8th Women Building Bio, Virginia Bio’s annual conference, held in Manassas, VA, on September 28, gathered over 100 life sciences professionals who convened to exchange knowledge, share experiences, and explore innovative approaches that help women thrive in the field. The fact that this year’s conference theme, “Building Better,” attracted everyone from life science students …