Funding, Awards and Collaborations
Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission (MSCRF) Announces Over $14 Million in Awards to Accelerate Cures
The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) Commission announced over $14.1 million in grant awards to promote innovative research that will strengthen and advance stem cell treatments and technologies in Maryland. This is the largest amount awarded to Maryland-based institutions and companies since 2010 and was made possible as a result of increased funding from the State. This is also the first time that the Commission awarded funding to Maryland-based companies under MSCRF’s new Manufacturing Assistance Program, established to boost cell therapy manufacturing capabilities in the State.
39 scientists from Maryland-based research institutions and companies will be receiving awards from this round of funding to advance research addressing an array of medical conditions, including cancer, eye, heart, bone, blood, digestive, and central nervous system diseases. Awardees include academic scientists from Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, University of Maryland, College Park, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger and The Geneva Foundation. From the commercial sector, awardees include Vita Therapeutics, Inc., Theradaptive, Inc., Caring Cross, Inc., RoosterBio, Inc. and Reprocell U.S.A., Inc.
TEDCO Invests $200,000 in Rise Therapeutics
TEDCO announced a recent Seed Funds investment of $200,000 into Rise Therapeutics, a Maryland-based biotechnology company. TEDCO’s Seed Funds invest in early-stage, technology and life sciences companies and provides access to gap financing. Rise Therapeutics, based in Rockville, Md., is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative treatments for devastating diseases. Rise has developed the Tripartite X drug delivery platform that leverages synthetic biology medicine to enable safe and effective oral delivery of biological therapies. TPX can be utilized to deliver a variety of protein-based drugs, including complex immunotherapy applications.
Previously, Rise Therapeutics received funding from TEDCO to support the validation of its drug delivery platform technology. This funding is supporting the advancement of Rise Therapeutic’s lead drug candidate, R-3750, through Phase I clinical testing for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Cancer Metastasis Study Gets $35 Million Boost at Johns Hopkins Medicine
With a $35 million gift from researcher, philanthropist and race car driver Theodore Giovanis, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine will study the biological roots of the most fatal aspect of cancer: how it metastasizes, or spreads, through the body. The contribution, a 15-year commitment, will establish the Giovanis Institute for Translational Cell Biology, dedicated to studying metastasis. The institute’s researchers aim to make discoveries that reveal common features of metastasis across cancer types, with the potential to develop new therapies.
Frederick County Public Schools and Battelle Announce $50,000 in STEM Grants
The Battelle National Biodefense Institute (BNBI) and Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) recognized the recipients of $50,000 in teacher challenge grants for STEM education. Representatives from BNBI and FCPS went to nine schools last Friday to surprise 15 teachers and their students with the news that their STEM proposals had been selected as winners. This year’s challenge grants ranged from $1,200 to $14,998.
HJF Announces 13th Annual Heroes of Military Medicine Awards Honorees
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. (HJF) announced the honorees of the 13th annual Heroes of Military Medicine Awards. The special event, held May 11, 2023, in Washington, D.C., brought top military medical researchers and practitioners together to salute those who have made exceptional contributions to military medicine. With the support of the Chairman Sponsor, Humana Military, HJF recognizes the heroes who have advanced medicine for our nation’s warfighters, veterans, and civilians.
In the Clinic
Positive Phase 2 Topline Results Show Novavax’s COVID-Influenza Combination, Stand-alone Influenza and High-dose COVID Vaccine Candidates Demonstrate Robust Immune Responses
Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX), announced that its COVID-Influenza Combination (CIC), stand-alone influenza and high-dose COVID vaccine candidates all showed a reassuring preliminary safety profile as well as comparable reactogenicity to individual Novavax influenza and COVID vaccine candidates or authorized influenza vaccine comparators. Additionally, all three vaccines demonstrated preliminary robust immune responses. The primary endpoint evaluated the safety of different formulations of the CIC vaccine candidate and the quadrivalent influenza vaccine candidate compared to Fluad®* and Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent® (Fluzone HD), as well as a high-dose COVID vaccine candidate in adults aged 50 through 80. All three vaccine candidates contained Novavax’s patented Matrix-M adjuvant and showed reassuring preliminary safety profiles and reactogenicity that was comparable to Fluad and Fluzone HD. The reactogenicity profile remained consistent as the adjuvant or antigen dose was increased.
The positive clinical news, however, also came with an announcement that Novavax laid off 25% of its workforce.
Innovent Shares Positive Data on Phase 2 Clinical Study of Higher-dose Mazdutide (IBI362) in Chinese Adults with Obesity
Innovent Biologics (HKEX: 01801) shared that the phase 2 clinical study of higher dose (9 mg) mazdutide (Innovent R&D Code: IBI362) in Chinese adults with obesity achieved the 24-week primary endpoint.
The results showed that mazdutide 9 mg demonstrated superior body weight loss versus placebo in Chinese subjects with obesity. After 24 weeks of treatment, the treatment difference of the mean percent change in body weight from baseline versus placebo was -15.4%; The treatment difference of the mean change in body weight from baseline versus placebo was -14.7 kg. The safety data were also favorible. The study is still in progress, and the data of other secondary and exploratory endpoints of the study will be analyzed and disclosed after the end of the study.
Research Roundup
UVA: Focused Ultrasound Trial Proves Promising for Parkinson’s Patients
Nearly 70% of Parkinson’s patients who received a high-tech, scalpel-free procedure to ease movement problems caused by Parkinson’s disease responded positively, according to results recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. University of Virginia neurosurgeon Dr. Jeff Elias and collaborators used focused ultrasound to target an area deep within the brain called the globus pallidus. The researchers wanted to see if the focused sound waves could improve trial participants’ ability to move and reduce the unwanted shaking and rigidity associated with Parkinson’s.
UMD: Insight into How Cells Get Signals from Physical Senses Could Lead to New Disease Treatments
A lot is known about how a cell senses and responds to chemical signals in its environment, but little is known about how signals from the physical environment, like touch, temperature or light, direct a cell’s activity. A new study published May 1, 2023 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by a University of Maryland-led Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research has opened the door to seeing how cells react to physical signals.
Regulatory and Advocacy
FDA Loosens Restrictions on Blood Donations from Gay and Bisexual Men
The FDA finalized recommendations for assessing blood donor eligibility using a set of individual risk-based questions to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV. This new policy eliminates time-based deferrals and screening questions specific to men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with MSM. Under the final guidance, all prospective blood donors will answer a series of individual, risk-based questions to determine eligibility.
All prospective donors who report having a new sexual partner, or more than one sexual partner in the past three months, and anal sex in the past three months, would be still be deferred to reduce the likelihood of donations by individuals with new or recent HIV infection who may be in the window period for detection of HIV by nucleic acid testing. Those taking medications to treat or prevent HIV infection (e.g., antiretroviral therapy, pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis), will also be deferred.
People on the Move
Bradley Maron, MD, Appointed Senior Associate Dean for Precision Medicine at Umsom and Co-director of New University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing (Um-Ihc) At UMB
Dr. Maron, Associate Professor of Medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS), and Co-Director of the Pulmonary Vascular Disease Center at the VA Boston Healthcare System, has been appointed Co-Director of the UMB’s new Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC), Director of Scientific Operations for the UM-IHC at UMSOM, as well as Senior Associate Dean for Precision Medicine at the UMSOM.
In his new role, Dr. Maron will work with University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) and University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) partners in establishing the new Institute as an international leader in the interdependent fields of clinical analytics and computational biology, using advanced data science technologies. He also will lead efforts to build centers within the Institute that focus on therapeutic target discovery, population health, pragmatic clinical trials, and an educational core curriculum that emphasizes scientific entrepreneurship.
University of Maryland School of Medicine Genomic Scientist Claire Fraser, PhD, Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has announced that Dr. Fraser, the Dean E. Albert Reece Endowed Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), and the Founding Director of the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS), has been elected as a new member of the prestigious academy. Dr. Fraser is one of 120 U.S. and 23 international new members elected on May 2, 2023 to the NAS, bringing its total U.S. membership to 2,565 members. In 1995 when Dr. Fraser was at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) in Rockville, she and her team were the first to map the complete genetic code of a free-living organism–Haemophilus influenza–the bacterium that causes lower respiratory tract infections and meningitis in infants and young children.
Mike Dieterich hired as new Senior Director of Sustainability at CRB Group
Dieterich specializes in decarbonization, zero-waste and net-zero energy projects, and energy efficiency programs. He is a celebrated leader in the sustainability community, with nearly 75 keynote speeches on sustainability, including TEDx talks, and he was recognized in 2021 by Environment + Energy Leader for his contributions to new solutions, programs, and platforms in environment and energy management.
In his new role at CRB, Dieterich is responsible for developing and implementing strategic sustainability initiatives, driving innovation in environmental practices, and working collaboratively with cross-functional teams to achieve lasting sustainability goals for our clients and their projects. His deep understanding of site utility needs and biopharma operations will be invaluable in advancing the company’s sustainability offering and influencing best practices companywide.
