Virginia Commonwealth University is working on the development of a potential treatment for Covid-19. Michael Peters, Ph.D., a professor in VCU’s Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, is leading the research. Peters said he works everyday in response to the pandemic, which led him to the discovery of a possible lifesaving novel peptide therapeutic …

Nanochon, a Washington, D.C. based company in the BioHealth Capital Region, applying novel materials to replicate bone and cartilage, and high-end 3-D printing to create an implant which can permanently repair debilitating joint injuries, was selected from five finalists as the company with the most commercial potential at the 6th Annual Crab Trap Competition. This year’s …

Cadence and several other local Shenandoah Valley, Virginia-based manufacturers are teaming up with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) and Blue Ridge Community College for their new Job Starter training program.  Job Starter is a paid training program that allows potential job candidates the opportunity to receive training and meet local employers during a 3-week …

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 …

Caretaker Medical, a pioneer in wireless “beat by beat” continuous, non-invasive, advanced patient monitoring, announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of the company’s next-generation VitalStream™ wireless blood pressure and hemodynamic monitoring platform. Continuous monitoring of blood pressure is of great importance to detect and treat dynamic changes. Traditionally, blood pressure is measured intermittently …

The inaugural Pitch Virginia event, powered by Activation Capital, will take place on Wednesday, November 10 at the newly opened Shift Retail Lab at VCU, an initiative of the VCU da Vinci Center.  Kicking off with a design thinking workshop in the morning, the day will be filled with pitches from high growth, main street …

This year brought in a record number of applications with over 1,100 submissions from 54 countries and 42 U.S. states. With less than a 5% acceptance rate, 50 companies were selected to participate in the MedTech Innovator Showcase, with a subset receiving a place in the MedTech Innovator Accelerator. Over four months, 25 Accelerator companies …

HemoShear Therapeutics, a privately held clinical stage biotechnology company, has earned a milestone payment for the advancement of potential lead product candidates for the treatment of gout under its collaboration with Horizon Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: HZNP). This milestone marks the fourth payment that HemoShear has earned, following previous payments for the identification and validation of …

BrightSpec announced the start of operation of a broadband Molecular Rotational Resonance spectrometer at BASF’s research center in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF will utilize MRR spectroscopy for the concise structure elucidation of organic compounds where isomerism is an underlying question. Major applications comprise stereochemical analysis, including chirality, defining the composition of mixtures without purification, and the …

Embody, Inc., a privately held medical device company focused on soft tissue healing, announces new appointments to its board and leadership team following the recently announced growth funding round of $20.5M to support continued commercial growth. The company adds Rene Salas to its Board of Directors.  Rene is a 30-year life science veteran and previously …

Tiny Cargo Co., a biotech startup founded by Rob Gourdie, professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, is among five companies to receive a Washington, DC Health Innovation QuickFire Challenge award. Spencer Marsh, a postdoctoral researcher in Gourdie’s laboratory, presented the pitch that awarded the company $50,000, the opportunity to reside at JLABS @ Washington, D.C. with …

ATCC, the world’s premier biological materials management and standards organization, announced that Dr. Melissa Rewolinski, Steve Curts and Heather Kiessling have joined its board of directors. ATCC’s board helps advise the senior leadership team on a variety of business, strategy and science-related issues. Board members work closely with management to identify new opportunities to deepen …

ISOThrive Inc., a microbiome therapeutics company announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Composition of Matter and Production Method patent for its first Farmaceutical™ Maltosyl-Isomaltooligosaccharides (MIMO™), a prebiotic for use as an animal feed additive and pet food supplement. USDA and University of GA studies showed MIMO as highly effective at …

George Mason University’s Mason Enterprise is establishing a new network of life science business mentors to help startups across Virginia launch and scale their ventures. The new team of mentors will support a broad range of life science companies in bringing their innovations, including therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and software, to market. This network will …

The FDA has established a public docket to solicit comments on several issues related to FDA’s regulation of certain drug products approved under abbreviated new drug applications before the enactment of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, commonly referred to as the Hatch-Waxman Amendments. Because these Pre-Hatch-Waxman ANDAs (PANDAs) were submitted under …

Bonumose is pleased to announce that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent No. 11,078,506 for “Enzymatic Production of D-Allulose”. This patent issuance follows Bonumose’s Allulose U.S. Patent No. 11,053,528 (July 6, 2021) and allulose U.S. Patent No. 10,704,069 (July 7, 2020). Bonumose has been issued additional Allulose patents and/or has patent …

Embody, Inc., a privately-held medical device company focused on soft tissue healing, announced that it has secured $11.5 million in an oversubscribed equity financing and entered into a debt financing agreement led by Horizon Technology Finance Corporation to provide up to $9 million in term loans, of which an initial $5 million has been funded, …

HemoShear Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage company developing treatments for rare metabolic disorders, dosed the first two patience in the HERO (HElp Reduce Organic Acids) Phase 2 clinical trial of HST5040, an oral small molecule drug being investigated for the treatment of patients with methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) and propionic acidemia (PA). This trial seeks to …

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently awarded Phlow Corp. the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year Award. Phlow Corp. is a U.S.-based, public benefit corporation committed to solving America’s broken essential medicine supply chain. This award recognizes Phlow for its performance during …

As reported online by the Richmond Times Dispatch, VCU Health will anchor a new venture by Capital City Partners in downtown Richmond’s Public Safety Building at 500 N. 10th Street. The conclusion comes four months after the Richmond City Council unanimously agreed to sell the nearly 70-year-old building for $3.5 million. Capital City Partners said …

Serpin Pharma was selected to receive a $1.25 MM award from The Virginia Catalyst, also known as the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC), for conducting a clinical investigation for the therapeutic role of SP16 drug in mitigating SARS COV2 (COVID-19) progression in hospitalized patients. The Principal Investigator is Serpin Pharma’s collaborator, Dr. Michael Yun …

Governor Ralph Northam today announced that 34 small technology-focused businesses in Virginia will receive a total of $3.4 million in Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) grants to commercialize research in an array of sectors, including agricultural and environmental technologies, autonomous systems, clean energy, cybersecurity, data analytics, life sciences, and space and satellites. These awards mark the …

The first SE Color Pitch event, hosted by Southeast Life Sciences, was held on June 24, 2021, featuring top minority-led, early-stage life science companies from the southeast United States. The winner of the SE Color Pitch event, TruGenomix, which will receive the $10,000 prize, sponsored by Moderna. Presenting for TruGenomix was Charles Cathlin. CEO & …

Bank of America is making a $1 million anchor grant to Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) College of Engineering. The grant will support ongoing programs that expand access for students to pursue a technology education, engage thousands of K-12 students in engineering outreach experiences and increase teacher participation in professional development sessions. This grant is the …