FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. (WDVM) — 2020 is already shaping up to be a big year for RoosterBio, now that they are expanding.

The Frederick based, biotech company is expanding its home base for the second time. Mid-December of 2019, they announced they would be adding an additional 5,000 SF of space.

RoosterBio is focused on developing and manufacturing human adult stem cells and stem cell-based products. The company is the leading supplier of human mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (hMSC) working cell banks and hMSC bioprocess systems. This expansion is a result of an increase in global need. They’ve been distributing in the U.S. market for about 5 years, and now they are moving into global markets like Asia and Europe.

Many of their products are used for research and clinical trials in humans. They can make these products much faster and cheaper than their competitors. Biotech companies like this are important for the future of innovation and medicine because they can help companies looking for a cure for aging stem cells and degenerative diseases, and gene therapy for cancer, therapeutics, etc.

Click here to read more via WDVM

ROCKVILLE, Md. & FOSTER CITY, Calif. & HANGZHOU, China–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 6, 2020– GlycoMimetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: GLYC), a leader in the field of applied glycotechnology for cancer, and Apollomics, Inc., an innovative biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of oncology combination therapies, announced today an exclusive collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialization of uproleselan and GMI-1687 in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, also known as Greater China.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200106005583/en/

Under the terms of the agreement, Apollomics will be responsible for clinical development and commercialization in Greater China. The companies will also collaborate to advance the preclinical and clinical development of GMI-1687, a highly potent, subcutaneous E-selectin antagonist with broad clinical potential. Subject to the terms of the agreement, GlycoMimetics will receive an upfront cash payment of $9 million and will be eligible to receive potential milestone payments totaling approximately $180 million, as well as tiered royalties on net sales. Apollomics will be responsible for all costs related to development, regulatory approvals, and commercialization activities for uproleselan and GMI-1687 in Greater China. GlycoMimetics will supply uproleselan and GMI-1687 to Apollomics via a clinical and commercial supply agreement. GlycoMimetics retains all rights for both compounds in the rest of the world.

“We believe Apollomics is the ideal long-term strategic partner for uproleselan and GMI-1687 in Greater China. The company has a highly experienced leadership team and drug development capabilities that complement our desire to bring these novel therapies to patients with AML and other hematologic malignancies,” said Rachel King, GlycoMimetics Chief Executive Officer. “We are excited about the opportunity to expand the reach of uproleselan and GMI-1687 with this agreement.”

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In the heart of Montgomery County, Maryland’s premier biotech district there is a 42,000 SF facility with 17,000 SF vacant lab/office suite located at 9900 Medical Center Drive. The newly delivered and available lab space was designed to foster collaboration and learning with an open layout, a welcoming courtyard and an inside common area that is shared with other local tenants.

Collaboration and learning are exactly what was happening on a Wednesday evening in December as nearly 100 biotech professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders from across the BioHealth Capital Region’s (BHCR) gathered for a ‘CEO Talks’ panel to hear from four CxO’s who are leading the regions most exciting biotech companies.

Hosted by Alexandria Real Estate (ARE) and CBRE, the event was moderated by BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) Founder, President, and CEO, Rich Bendis. As a renowned innovator, investor and regional ecosystem builder, Bendis has played a part in the success stories for many founders and knows what it takes for a biotech startup to become successful.

The CxO panel featured Greg Merril, CEO of Adaptive Phage Therapeutics; Dr. Murat Kalayoglu, CEO at Cartesian Therapeutics; and the dynamic husband and wife duo, Matt Mulvey, Ph.D. BeneVir CEO at The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and Katherine Sacksteder, Ph.D. and BeneVir COO at The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

Click here to read more via BioBuzz

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Dec. 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Viela Bio (Nasdaq:VIE), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering treatments for autoimmune and severe inflammatory diseases, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 2b trial of VIB4920 for the treatment of Sjögren’s syndrome—a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease involving inflammation and destruction of the salivary and lacrimal glands which leads to severe dryness and chronic pain.

“Sjögren’s is a common rheumatic disease for which there are currently no approved disease-modifying therapies. Patients with this disease suffer from debilitating fatigue and extensive mouth and eye dryness, and in some cases, lung and kidney disease as well as an increased risk of lymphoma,” said Jorn Drappa, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Head of Research and Development at Viela Bio. “The initiation of this trial is an important milestone in our research and development efforts involving the CD40/CD40L co-stimulatory pathway. We believe that treatment with our product candidate VIB4920—a fusion protein designed to bind to CD40L—could address immune overactivation in T and B cell-driven diseases such as Sjögren’s syndrome.”

The Phase 2b trial is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of VIB4920 in participants with Sjögren’s syndrome. For additional information about this clinical trial, please visit clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT04129164.

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— Investigational KTE-X19 To Be First Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell Therapy for Mantle Cell Lymphoma if Approved —

— Filing for Kite’s Second CAR T Therapy Marks Potential Expansion of Company’s Cell Therapy Portfolio —

SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 11, 2019– Kite, a Gilead Company (Nasdaq: GILD), today announced that it has submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the investigational chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, KTE-X19, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

The BLA submission is based on data from the Phase 2 ZUMA-2 trial, which demonstrated an overall response rate of 93 percent, including 67 percent with complete response, as assessed by an Independent Radiologic Review Committee (IRRC) following a single infusion of KTE-X19. In the safety analysis, Grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurologic events were seen in 15 percent and 31 percent of patients, respectively. No Grade 5 CRS or neurologic events occurred. Detailed findings from this trial were recently presented at the 61^st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Orlando.

“There remains a significant need for new treatments for patients with relapsed/refractory MCL despite recent advances, so this regulatory filing is an especially important milestone for the MCL community,” said Ken Takeshita, MD, Kite’s Global Head of Clinical Development. “We look forward to working with the FDA to bring KTE-X19 to appropriate patients as quickly as possible and continuing to deliver on the promise of our industry-leading cell therapy development program with a second CAR T therapy.”

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SHANGHAI, Dec. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Avantor, Inc. (NYSE: AVTR), a leading global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the life sciences and advanced technologies & applied materials industries, today opened an innovation and customer support center in Shanghai, China to support biopharma research and technology development in the region. Avantor now has nine innovation centers worldwide.

The new Avantor^® laboratory will help biopharmaceutical companies accelerate the development of life-changing treatments for patients in the region. It will specifically focus on enhancing industry capabilities in the development and manufacture of safe and effective biological medicines such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and cell & gene therapy. These treatments show great potential in China and are a fast-growing segment of the bioprocessing industry worldwide.

Dr. Ger Brophy, Executive Vice President, Biopharma Production at Avantor, said, “As demand for therapeutic biologics increases worldwide, our latest investment in Asia is a testament to our belief in the potential of China as a critical innovation hub in the global biopharma industry. International leaders and local innovators alike will benefit from enhanced in-country access to Avantor’s workflow expertise, advanced raw material products and exacting quality standards.”

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Gaithersburg, MD and Cambridge, MA – December 4, 2019: MaxCyte, the global cell-based therapies and life sciences company, and KSQ Therapeutics, a biotechnology company using its proprietary CRISPRomics® discovery platform to achieve higher probabilities of success in drug development, announced today that the companies have entered into a new development and commercialization agreement. Under the agreement, KSQ gains rights to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation® technology and ExPERT™ instruments for the advancement of KSQ’s engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (eTIL™) programs, which the company is developing for the treatment of PD-1 refractory solid tumors.

Under the terms of the agreement, KSQ obtains non-exclusive clinical and commercial use rights to MaxCyte’s cell engineering platform to develop multiple adoptive cell therapies. In return, MaxCyte is eligible to receive certain milestone payments in addition to other licensing fees.

“Adoptive cell therapies hold significant potential to improve outcomes for patients that are otherwise unresponsive to current treatments,” said David Meeker, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of KSQ. “MaxCyte’s technology will play an important role in enabling the further development of our eTIL™ programs as we work to bring best-in-class, cell-based medicines forward for difficult to treat solid tumors.”

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Ben Wu, the deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Commerce, has been named as the new CEO for the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation.

MCEDC is a public-private economic development nonprofit for the county.

The Montgomery County agency’s board of directors announced the appointment in a press release on Wednesday afternoon. Wu’s first day is Dec. 18.

A Montgomery County native, Wu brings years of experience at the local, state, and federal level. Before joining the state Department of Commerce in 2015 as deputy secretary and chief operating officer, he served as a U.S. deputy undersecretary of commerce and U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for technology policy under then-President George W. Bush.

Wu previously worked at the state Department of Commerce as assistant secretary of business and economic development and senior technology policy advisor before returning as deputy secretary in 2015.

At the U.S. Department of Commerce, he served as chief operating officer, overseeing more than 3,000 employees and a $500 million budget for a bureau that included the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg.

Click here to read more via Bethesda Magazine