News

09/06/2024

Canon Virginia, Inc. to Expand Newport News Facility

Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that Canon Virginia, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of consumer and office products, will expand its manufacturing facility in the City of Newport News. The expansion will support Canon’s new initiative to scale a unique method of isolating natural silk protein to create a solution with applications for multiple industries. Canon

09/05/2024

AgroSpheres Receives EPA Approval of First AgriCell Powered Biofungicide

AgroSpheres, a biotechnology leader in sustainable crop protection and crop health, today announced that its first biofungicide, powered by the novel AgriCell technology, has received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following a comprehensive review. This approval allows the company to commence commercial production, bringing its innovative bioplatform technology directly to growers. The proprietary

09/04/2024

LumaCyte Unveils Predictive CAR T Donor Analytics to Revolutionize Cell Therapy Manufacturing

LumaCyte, a leader in advanced cellular analysis and precision bioanalytics, proudly announces the launch of its groundbreaking cell therapy application for predictive CAR T donor analytics. Leveraging its novel Laser Force Cytology™ (LFC™) technology and Radiance® instrument, LumaCyte uncovers deep data insights into highly variable and complex patient and donor cellular starting material, enabling cell

09/04/2024

ReAlta Life Sciences Further Bolsters Experienced Executive Team with the Appointment of Peter Ho, Ph.D., as Head of Business Development and Corporate Strategy

ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc. (“ReAlta” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to saving lives by rebalancing the inflammatory response to address rare and acute inflammatory diseases, announced that Peter Ho, Ph.D., has joined the Company as Head of Business Development and Corporate Strategy. “I am thrilled to have Peter join our executive team

08/29/2024

Activation Capital Selects 10 Startups for Inaugural Frontier BioHealth Program

Activation Capital, an innovation ecosystem development organization, has announced the selection of 10 fast-growing startups from across the country for the inaugural Frontier BioHealth program, which commenced with an in-person gathering on August 8-9, 2024. Each company will benefit from highly specialized training, targeted mentorship, and extensive relationship-building opportunities to accelerate its growth in the life

08/22/2024

ReAlta Life Sciences Invigorates Executive Team with Appointments of David Marek as Chief Executive Officer and Paolo Martini, Ph.D., as Chief Research and Development Officer

ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc. (“ReAlta” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to saving lives by rebalancing the inflammatory response to address rare and acute inflammatory diseases, today announced two distinguished biopharmaceutical veterans to lead the Company: David Marek appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Paolo Martini, Ph.D., appointed as Chief Research and Development

08/21/2024

Senior health science industry innovation leader joins Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC

A senior business leader in the development and translation of biomedical science innovation through the commercialization pipeline has joined Virginia Tech to facilitate the growth of the academic health sciences research enterprise through building strategic industry partnerships and facilitating commercialization of discoveries. Sally Allain, formerly the head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS @ Washington,

08/20/2024

Children’s National Hospital, Additional Ventures offer grants for pediatric cardiology devices

The Alliance for Pediatric Device Innovation (APDI), a nonprofit consortium led by Children’s National Hospital and funded by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announces today it is partnering with Additional Ventures, a nonprofit foundation focused on accelerating research progress and improving clinical care for individuals born with single ventricle heart defects, to solicit proposals

08/19/2024

ReAlta Granted FDA Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track Designation for RLS-0071 for the Treatment of Steroid-Refractory Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease

ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc., a clinical-stage biotech company dedicated to saving lives by rebalancing the inflammatory response to address rare and acute inflammatory diseases, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track Designation to RLS-0071, the Company’s lead therapeutic candidate, for the treatment of hospitalized patients

08/15/2024

Air Force awards $1.8M to VCU startup to advance development of drug treating massive blood loss

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University could soon launch a clinical trial to test an intravenous solution that its inventor, a School of Medicine physiologist and surgery professor, says might treat massive blood loss in trauma patients. Perfusion Medical Inc., a VCU startup working to commercialize the drug called PM-208, has received $1.8 million from the

08/14/2024

Rivus Pharmaceuticals’ Phase 2a HuMAIN Trial Meets Primary Endpoint of Weight Loss and Secondary Endpoints in Patients with Obesity-Related Heart Failure

Rivus Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving metabolic health, today announced its Phase 2a HuMAIN clinical trial of HU6 in patients with obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) met its primary endpoint of weight reduction. HU6, an oral, once-daily potentially first-in-class investigational treatment, is a Controlled Metabolic Accelerator (CMA), which

08/06/2024

Richmond Times-Dispatch Op-Ed: For-profit middlemen are threatening Virginia’s biotech ecosystem

Virginia patients continue to struggle to balance health care costs with other daily living necessities. As state legislators explore different paths to improve access to care for communities across the commonwealth, commonsense solutions that will effectively lower costs and other barriers that patients face at the pharmacy counter must be at the forefront. To improve

07/25/2024

Growth of Early-Stage Resident Companies Marks the Third Anniversary of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS @ Washington, DC

Celebration of the three-year anniversary of JLABS @ Washington, DC (JLABS DC), it’s great timing to highlight recent accomplishments and milestones reached by incubating and regional companies. Additionally, JLABS DC is excited to share new access to specialized lab equipment to support more innovators within the region. Since the start of 2024, there has been

07/19/2024

Capra Biosciences Lands $7.5 Million Project Agreement To Demonstrate Platform To Rapidly Scale Pharmaceutical Ingredient Manufacturing

Many ingredients that make up the pharmaceuticals Americans rely on are manufactured overseas. When supply chain issues or shortages occur, as witnessed during the COVID pandemic, it can negatively impact millions of Americans and affect national security. The White House issued an Executive Order in 2022 to stimulate U.S. biomanufacturing. Increasing American biomanufacturing, will provide

07/18/2024

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

Governor Glenn Youngkin  announced that 11 companies across the Commonwealth have graduated from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s (VEDP) Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program and 14 companies have joined the two-year program. VALET, which now has 402 graduated companies, assists Virginia exporters that have firmly established domestic operations and are committed to international

07/18/2024

Robert Ward appointed as Activation Capital’s interim president and chief executive officer

The Virginia Biotechnology Research Park Authority Board appointed Robert Ward as interim president and chief executive officer of Activation Capital, an innovation ecosystem development organization, effective today. Ward is a senior executive with over 25 years of experience leading organizations, driving strategy and innovation, developing high performing teams and executing complex transactions. Ward has served

07/17/2024

Carilion CEO Nancy Howell Agee to Retire

Nancy Howell Agee, who led Carilion through more than a decade of transformative change, will step down as CEO Sept. 30. Steve Arner, who was promoted to president in May 2023, will succeed Agee and become president and CEO Oct. 1. The leadership transition comes after Agee’s long and distinguished career at Carilion, beginning as

07/15/2024

Lupus Treatment with Omega3-Rich Krill Oil Improves Disease Activity

AMPEL BioSolutions, with collaborators Lupus Therapeutics and Aker Biomarine, revealed peer-reviewed results that supplementation with Omega3-rich Krill Oil improves disease activity of autoimmune Lupus patients. Omega3 lipids called polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are found in microscopic shrimp-like crustaceans called Krill from the waters around Antarctica are key to maintaining a low inflammatory state.  Some

07/15/2024

Inorganic Ventures acquires PURE Analytical Laboratories, Combining Unique Capabilities for Precision Manufacturing

Two privately held specialty chemical firms that provide high-purity materials and services for chemical applications, from renewable energy to food and beverages and consumer safety, are combining their capabilities to serve new and expanding precision markets. IV Labs Inc., the parent company of Inorganic Ventures, has acquired PURE Analytical Laboratories, one of the few companies that

07/12/2024

Director named for Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC Cancer Research Center

An accomplished biomedical engineer who studies the biophysical setting of brain cancer has been named director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC’s Cancer Research Center in Roanoke, Virginia. Jennifer Munson will organize the institute’s Cancer Research Center in Roanoke, while closely collaborating with its Cancer Research Center in Washington, D.C., said Michael Friedlander, Virginia Tech’s vice

07/11/2024

BrightSpec Adds Commercial Firepower to its Leadership Team and Board of Directors

BrightSpec, the market leader in Molecular Rotational Resonance (MRR) spectroscopy solutions, announced the appointment of two new executives to drive the commercialization of their growing portfolio of precision instruments and analytical tools. BrightSpec develops and commercializes instruments that harness the power of MRR spectroscopy, an innovative approach to rapidly and definitively characterize the unique three-dimensional

07/11/2024

BIO-CAT Announces Safety Study on New Enzyme Addressing High FODMAP Foods

BIO-CAT, an industry-leading enzyme supplier headquartered in Virginia, is excited to announce the publication of a groundbreaking safety clinical trial manuscript featuring its proprietary ingredient, OPTIZIOME® Inulinase  (now marketed as OPTIZIOME® Fructanase), in Gastro Hep Advances. Fructanase, also known as inulinase, was developed to address the unintended consequences of digestive discomfort from certain foods, more

07/09/2024

ReAlta Life Sciences Strengthens Board of Directors with Appointment of Accomplished Financial Executive

ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc., a mid-stage clinical biotech company dedicated to saving lives by rebalancing the inflammatory response to address life-threatening diseases,  announced the appointment of Emma Reeve to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. “We are very pleased to welcome Emma Reeve to our Board of Directors,” said Buzz Heidt, Chairman of ReAlta’s Board

07/09/2024

CEL-SCI Appoints Robert Watson as Chairperson of the Board

CEL-SCI Corporation announced that Robert (“Bob”) Watson, who has served as a Director of the Company since 2017, has been appointed Chairperson of the Board. Bob is an accomplished business leader who began his career as an investment banker. With over four decades of experience across various healthcare markets, Bob brings extensive expertise in capital