Weekly Quick Hits (Research Triangle Park) – Week of August 28, 2023

Pfizer’s Rocky Mount-based manufacturing facility could reopen later this year after a portion of the facility was damaged by a tornado. That will restore the flow of some essential medicines disrupted by the storm’s impact. Also this week in RTP, Allucent snagged a COVID-related contract and new research from N.C. State suggests that online posts regarding mental health challenges could negatively impact job searches.

By Alex Keown | September 1, 2023

Quick Hits is BioBuzz’s weekly round up of all the life science news you don’t want to miss, in your region of interest. Don’t miss a beat; SUBSCRIBE to our weekly Quick Hits newsletter via LinkedIn (BioHealth Capital Region, Greater Philadelphia, Research Triangle Park) or get it delivered to your inbox every week.

Funding, Awards and Collaborations 

Allucent Awarded BARDA Contract to Accelere Next-Generation COVID-19 Boosters

Allucent, a Cary-based clinical research organization, has been selected by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to accelerate clinical research and development for next-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Under BARDA’s Clinical Studies Network (CSN), Allucent will initiate and implement a 10,000-participant Phase IIb clinical trial. The research is designed to evaluate the relative efficacy of next-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidates compared to approved/authorized COVID-19 vaccines to prevent symptomatic, PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Pfizer Could Restart Production at Tornado-Hit Plant by Early Q4

Pfizer said it expects to restart production at its North Carolina plant by the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2023 as it seeks to repair tornado damage to one of the world’s largest sterile injectable drug facilities. Most of the damage from the tornado was to a warehouse, and not production facilities, but Pfizer had indicated it would be a monumental task to repair the damage, Reuters reported.

Pairwise, Bayer Builds on Gene Editing Partnership With New Five-Year Partnership

Pairwise, a Durham-based food and agriculture company known for bringing the first gene-edited food to the U.S. market, and Bayer announced a new five-year, multi-million dollar agreement focused on innovations in short-stature corn. This new program leverages Pairwise’s Fulcrum platform and builds on the success of the companies’ initial five-year collaboration for corn, soy, wheat, cotton and canola.

BioSkryb Genomics Forges Asian Partnership with Research Instruments Pte Ltd.

BioSkryb Genomics, a company transforming single-cell analysis by enabling the most complete multiomic view of the cellular ecosystem, from discovery to diagnostics, announced a partnership with Research Instruments Pte Ltd, a distributor for genomic and life science research products in Southeast Asia. The partnership will allow the distribution of BioSkryb’s ResolveDNA and ResolveOME single-cell amplification tools throughout Singapore and Southeast Asia. 

Spencer Health Raises Series D to Expand Pharmaceutical, Care Management Markets

Spencer Health Solutions, Inc., a pharma services and health technology company, closed its Series D funding round, having raised an initial $43 million with additional funding expected before the end of the year. The funding will support continued growth in clinical trials and patient support service, including capital for devices, new operational team members, and sales and marketing resources. Our goal is to continue helping pharmaceutical companies and providers better serve patients from their homes.

In the Clinic

Atsena Therapeutics Doses First Patient in Phase I/II Trial of ATSN-201

Atsena Therapeutics announced the first patient has been dosed in its Phase I/II clinical trial, the LIGHTHOUSE study, evaluating subretinal injection of ATSN-201 for the treatment of X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS). ATSN-201 leverages AAV.SPR, the company’s novel spreading capsid, to achieve therapeutic levels of gene expression in photoreceptors of the central retina while avoiding the surgical risks of foveal detachment. XLRS is a monogenic X-linked disease caused by mutations in the RS1 gene which encodes retinoschisin.

New Products

Carolina Breast Imaging Specialists Is First to Adopt Imagio Breast Imaging System

Carolina Breast Imaging Specialists is the first radiology center in the U.S.A. to adopt the recently available Imagio® Breast Imaging System. Imagio uses non-invasive opto-acoustic ultrasound (OA/US) technology to provide real-time information about suspicious breast lesions, helping physicians characterize and differentiate masses that may — or may not — require more invasive diagnostic evaluation.

Research Roundup

Intravenous Iron Treatment Offers Benefit to Patients with Heart Failure, Iron Deficiency

More than half of all patients with heart failure experience iron deficiency, which is associated with worse symptoms, poor quality of life, and diminished exercise ability. A new study led by Duke Health researchers finds an intravenous iron treatment provides a measure of benefit to these patients, but the results are nuanced. Although the study results didn’t meet statistical significance, the therapy demonstrated a numerical improvement across mortality, heart failure hospitalizations, and exercise capacity. The research team also noted results from a pre-specified pooled analysis with two previous studies of ferric carboxymaltose in heart failure, all comparing the drug to placebo for a fuller look at the available data.

NIH Study Shows Association Between Better Living Conditions and Childhood Asthma

Living in a neighborhood with better access to resources such as high-quality housing, healthy food, parks and playgrounds, and clean air during the early stages of childhood was associated with lower asthma incidence in a new study from NIH’s Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, which is based in Durham. Children born in high-opportunity neighborhoods had an asthma incidence rate of 23.3 cases per 1,000 children, while those born in very low and low-opportunity neighborhoods had rates of 35.3 per 1,000 and 27 per 1,000, respectively.

Potential Employers View Candidates Differently if They Post Online About Mental Health

It is increasingly common for people to discuss mental health challenges on social media platforms, but a new study from N.C. State University and other area researchers find these disclosures can affect the way potential employers view job applicants. Jenna McChesney, first author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at Meredith College who worked on the study while a grad student at NC State said the study found disclosures of mental health issues can influence the way recruiters can view people in a professional context. Read more about the study here.

Precision BioSciences to Host In Vivo Gene Editing R&D Day on Sept. 12

Precision BioSciences, a gene editing company developing ARCUS®-based in vivo gene editing therapies, will host its in vivo gene editing R&D Day on Sept. 12 from 9-11 a.m. Precision’s gene editing event will feature presentations from company management as well as key opinion leaders. The R&D Day event will reflect Precision’s go-forward singular focus on in vivo gene editing through ARCUS, its proprietary, wholly-owned genome editing platform. The agenda will include an overview of the broad potential and differentiation of ARCUS, new pre-clinical data, and timelines for leading in vivo gene editing programs.

People on the Move

EmVenio Research Expands Clinical Research Team

Durham-based EmVenio Research appointed Christine Scheuring and Vickie Leathers to manage clinical research teams and processes. Scheuring serves as director of quality and compliance and Leathers is the manager of clinical research education and training. Their hiring aligns with EmVenio’s goal to ensure that the clinical trial team conducts and will maintain adherence to the latest Federal Drug Administration regulations and in accordance with Good Clinical Practice and International Conference of Harmonization guidelines.

Microsoft Executive Peter Lee to Join Board of RTP-Based Bionic Health

Bionic Health announced that Dr. Peter Lee, leader of Microsoft Research and Incubations has joined its Board of Directors. Lee is a renowned expert in artificial intelligence, computer science, and healthcare innovation. Bionic Health also announced that it was selected from several hundred companies to participate in Betaworks AICamp, a prestigious program that invests in and supports twelve early-stage AI startups. As part of the program, Bionic Health will receive additional investment from Betaworks, Greycroft, Mozilla Ventures, and Differential VC.

Duke Health Taps Chief Data Scientist

Michael Pencina, vice dean for data science, professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics at Duke University School of Medicine, and director of Duke AI Health, has been named Duke Health’s first chief data scientist. Pencina will partner with key leaders in Duke University School of Medicine and Duke University Health System to leverage and expand the opportunities afforded by the recently announced partnerships with Microsoft and nference.

Christina Ackermann Joins Verona Pharma as Non-Executive Director

Verona Pharma plc named Christina Ackerman to the company’s board of directors, effective Sept. 1, 2023. She will join as a non-executive director. Most recently, she served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Global President Ophthalmic Pharmaceuticals at Bausch + Lomb. Previously, Ackermann was part of the Novartis group of companies for 14 years where she served in multiple leadership roles of increasing responsibility including Global Head, Legal and General Counsel of Alcon and Sandoz. Earlier in her career, Ackermann held Associate General Counsel roles at both Bristol-Myers Squibb and DuPont Pharmaceuticals.