News

03/14/2022

Thermo Fisher Scientific to add 500 jobs in RVA region

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.

03/10/2022

Virginia Tech and Amazon establish machine learning research partnership

Virginia Tech and Amazon are partnering to advance research and innovation in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The Amazon – Virginia Tech Initiative for Efficient and Robust Machine Learning will include machine learning-focused research projects, doctoral student fellowships, community outreach, and an establishment of a shared advisory board. “This partnership affirms the value of our

03/09/2022

Phlow Launches Key Essential Medicines to Leading Children’s Hospitals to Help Alleviate Impact of Shortages

RICHMOND, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Phlow, a U.S.-based, public benefit impact-driven pharmaceutical company, announced the launch of key essential medicines, sequentially over the coming quarter, for the Children’s Hospital Coalition™ (CHC), a first-in-kind coalition of leading pediatric institutions. The availability of these medications is an important first step demonstrating Phlow’s commitment to CHC members to provide a reliable

03/03/2022

BIO-CAT Microbials Invests $35 Million in State-of-the-Art Virginia Fermentation Facility

TROY, Va.,  /PRNewswire/ — BIO-CAT Microbials, LLC — a Virginia-based leading microbial solutions company — recently announced a $35 million investment to significantly expand its Troy, Virginia facility to include fermentation capabilities. The company will be breaking ground on an initial 53,800 square-foot expansion phase in March of 2022, with potential future expansion up to an additional 100,000 square feet. The expansion

03/03/2022

Civica to Manufacture and Distribute Affordable Insulin

Americans with diabetes will have access to more affordable insulins through a transparent, cost-plus model Drastically reducing out-of-pocket costs for insulin through transformative collaboration between Civica and dedicated partners representing nearly every corner of the diabetes ecosystem LEHI, Utah –(BUSINESS WIRE)–Civica, Inc. (Civica, Civica Rx) today announced plans to manufacture and distribute insulins that, once

03/02/2022

FDA Approves Kaléo’s 10 mg Naloxone Auto-Injector for the Treatment of Known or Potential Exposure to Ultra-Potent Weaponized Opioids

Product Received Fast-Track Designation for military personnel facing the potential threat of exposure to synthetic opioids on the battlefield on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense. RICHMOND, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kaléo, a privately held U.S. pharmaceutical company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Naloxone Auto-injector 10 mg (NALOXONE HYDROCHLORIDE

03/02/2022

Tom Ryder Joins Focused Ultrasound Foundation Board of Directors

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Thomas O. Ryder, an investor, entrepreneur, and retired corporate executive, was elected to the Focused Ultrasound Foundation’s Board of Directors at their March 1 meeting. Ryder has served as Chairman and CEO of the Reader’s Digest Association and President of American Express’s Travel Related Services International, Merchant Services Worldwide, and American Express Publishing

02/28/2022

Pharma Cluster Accelerator Announces New Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lead

New position ensures access to opportunities created by the Advanced Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturing Cluster regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or geographic location. Richmond, VA –  The Cluster Accelerator for Advanced Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturing, an entity launched to fast-track the development of a globally competitive essential medicines manufacturing hub across Central Virginia, announced the hiring

02/25/2022

Lighthouse Labs Announces Newest Cohort

Three Richmond-area companies — a maker of ingredient-conscious lipstick and lip balms, a company that helps connect expectant and new parents to care providers, and a firewood delivery service — were selected to participate in a Richmond accelerator program for startup companies. The three Richmond businesses will join six others — including two from elsewhere

02/24/2022

Do you want to help support student interns? Apply Now!

As students have shown great interest in the upcoming STEM2VA Summer Internship Program, we at VA Bio-Connect want to continue to invite employers to register as host sites for this great opportunity in providing experiential learning to those interested in the life sciences. With an application close date of Jan 31, 2022. There were over

02/24/2022

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. This years Fair is on April 9, 2022

02/23/2022

KeViRx, Inc selected as part of BLUE KNIGHT™ collaboration for global health preparedness

Charlottesville, Virginia – KeViRx, Inc. (“KeViRx”) has been selected to join Blue Knight, a joint initiative between Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Blue Knight is a collaborative program designed to anticipate and respond to

02/22/2022

Chandra Briggman column: Filling the nation’s need for essential medicines

Richmond, VA, (Richmond Times Dispatch) – While many of us have been focused this month on the Olympics and Super Bowl, another competition is underway that could make an enormous impact on our community and nation. The Build Back Better Regional Challenge is a historic grant competition issued by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. BBBRC

02/22/2022

CEE to Host STEM Lyceums Events for Students

McLean, Va. – The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) announces its spring 2022 schedule of virtual science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Lyceums events for high school students. CEE’s STEM Lyceums are free monthly virtual meetings that will engage high school students in discussion and exploration of STEM concepts and unique STEM career pathways, provided

02/16/2022

Children’s National uses HIFU to perform first ever non-invasive brain tumor surgery

Washington, D.C., Children’s National Hospital successfully performed the first-ever high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) surgery on a pediatric patient with neurofibromatosis (NF). This is the youngest patient to undergo HIFU treatment in the world. The advancement of children’s medical devices in the U.S. continues to significantly lag behind adult devices. This is why this milestone marks

02/16/2022

TearSolutions, Inc. Announces Outcome of Type C Meeting with FDA and Next Steps in the Development of Lacripep™

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TearSolutions, Inc. (“the Company”), a privately held developer of a replacement therapy for the treatment of Dry Eye Disease (DED) called Lacripep, today announced that in late 2021 it received official minutes from a Type C meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the development of Lacripep

02/16/2022

ADIAL PHARMACEUTICALS ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF $10 MILLION FINANCING

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 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 closing of its previously announced registered direct offering, whereby a single accredited institutional investor purchased approximately $10 million of

02/16/2022

ZielBio Announces First Patient Dosed in Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial of ZB131, Its Novel Monoclonal Antibody Targeting Cancer Specific Plectin

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., /PRNewswire/ — ZielBio, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company discovering new treatments for cancer through its innovative ZielFind drug discovery platform, today announced the first patient dosed in its Phase 1/2 clinical trial. The study will evaluate ZB131 in patients with solid tumors who are either non-responsive to or ineligible for the standard

02/16/2022

ATCC Announces Awards from DTRA that Strengthen ATCC’s Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development Portfolio for Global Health and Biodefense

Manassas, VA, ATCC, the world’s premier biological materials management and standards organization, announced that it has been awarded three grants valued at over $5.5 million by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The work will identify and characterize novel therapeutic approaches to viruses of global health concern. Promising therapeutic candidates will be tested for efficacy with

02/16/2022

ATCC Announces Awards from DTRA that Strengthen ATCC’s Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development Portfolio for Global Health and Biodefense

Manassas, VA, ATCC, the world’s premier biological materials management and standards organization, announced that it has been awarded three grants valued at over $5.5 million by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The work will identify and characterize novel therapeutic approaches to viruses of global health concern. Promising therapeutic candidates will be tested for efficacy with in

02/11/2022

Vibrent Health Rebrands its Health Research Participant Portal as “Participant Cloud” to Reflect Virtual Research Capabilities, Accessibility and Flexibility

Vibrent Health enhances and rebrands its consumer-facing digital health platform for data collection, recruitment and engagement of health research participants   Fairfax, VA., – Vibrent Health, a digital health technology startup dedicated to powering the future of precision health research, announced a rebranding of their participant-facing digital health research portal and mobile apps, formerly the

01/31/2022

UVA teaming up with Charlottesville pharmaceutical company for new burn treatment

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – The University of Virginia School of Medicine is teaming up with a Charlottesville company to create a new burn treatment. Typically when skin is burned, the area surrounding it is impacted and dead, too. This new treatment is a cream that is put directly on severe wounds. “Our hope is that

01/26/2022

BIO Statement in Opposition to Senate Bill 376

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

01/25/2022

GMU/ICAP Mentorship Program Connects Mentors with Growing Life Science Startups

Baltimore, MD, (BioBuzz) – Developing an ecosystem for life sciences startups takes a lot of energy and support. The Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP), a program of George Mason University and the Virginia SBDC, has been laying the groundwork to support these emerging companies and has tapped two new life sciences mentors to provide guidance