Weekly Quick Hits (Research Triangle Park) – Week of July 10, 2023

A $50 million investment from the FDA, will allow researchers from UNC, Duke University, N.C. State and other state institutions to become part of the CERSI Network that includes to BioHealth Capital Region schools. Coming off its spinout of Fortrea, Labcorp cut several deals to advance its laboratory business.

By Alex Keown
July 14, 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 

Labcorp and Legacy Health Agree to Comprehensive Laboratory Relationship

LabCorp entered into an agreement with Legacy Health to acquire select assets of its outreach laboratory business, including laboratory facilities and equipment. Labcorp will also manage Legacy’s inpatient hospital laboratories through a long-term agreement to provide staffing, leadership, scientific knowledge, analytics, supply chain services and laboratory support. Legacy will maintain ownership and licensure of its hospital laboratories as well as retain ownership of its central lab building at Holladay Park in Northeast Portland. 

Labcorp Finalizes Strategic Relationship with Jefferson Health

Labcorp established a strategic relationship with Jefferson Health, the largest health system serving the greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey region. Jefferson’s current offerings will expand through the partnership. Healthcare access will be improved for underserved communities in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas, the companies said. This new relationship will also help standardize laboratory testing across the entire health system, creating consistency and optimizing patient care and safety at all locations.

Velocity and Privia Health Partner to Embed Clinical Research Into Practice Sites

Durham-based Velocity Clinical Research and Privia Health, a physician enablement company serving more than 3,700 providers, partnered to open embedded clinical research sites within Privia’s practice network. The partnership is intended to establish integrated research sites within existing Privia Care Center locations that do not currently conduct clinical trials. The partnership gives Velocity access to a large, integrated network of multi-specialty providers, which will expand its therapeutic base in specialty care. The first of these sites will be in West Texas Health, a clinic in Abilene, Texas.

Synlogic, Science 37 Partner on Pivotal Study for Investigational PKU Drug

Science 37 Holdings, Inc. was selected by Synlogic to provide virtual clinical trial technology and services for Synpheny-3, its ongoing pivotal, Phase III trial of investigational drug labafenogene marselecobac (previously known as SYNB1934) as a potential treatment for phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare, genetic metabolic disorder. Synlogic anticipates enrolling approximately 150 patients who have the potential to receive the investigational drug and to be monitored for up to three years. The Science 37 Metasite will expand access to the trial for patients who may be unable or prefer not to travel to research sites for study visits. Science 37 will also provide its unified platform to the study’s physical research sites, ensuring end-to-end data quality and consistency, no matter where or how data is captured.

UNC, Duke Awarded up to $50 Million from FDA for New Research Center

The FDA will award up to $50 million over five years to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University to establish the Research Triangle Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSI). CERSI will serve as an accelerator to meet the FDA’s evolving need to access the most current scientific knowledge. Triangle CERSI, the newest of only five CERSIs across the country, will work with FDA scientists to perform cutting-edge scientific research to better inform and support the FDA’s needs. The four other FDA-funded CERSIs include the University of Maryland, the University of California at San Francisco in partnership with Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University in partnership with the Mayo Clinic. 

New Products

Keystone Lab Adds Xylazine Testing to its In-House Menu

Keystone Lab, a dual-CAP accredited and CLIA-certified lab, added xylazine to its in-house urine clinical toxicology menu. Keystone provides clinical and forensic toxicology testing services throughout the southeastern U.S. and is one of few labs in the nation to offer xylazine testing. Xylazine is a non-opioid tranquilizer that is only authorized in the U.S. for veterinary use. The Biden administration designated fentanyl combined with xylazine as an emerging threat to the United States. The DEA Laboratory System reported that in 2022, approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine. They also reported that xylazine-positive overdose deaths increased by 1,127% in the southern U.S. between 2020 and 2021, with those numbers continuing to increase.

Real Estate

As Triangle’s Life Sciences Booms, Real Estate Leaders Seek to Fill Space Needs

RTP has maintained a prominent position as a top life sciences hub in the United States. Private property investors and development firms are also taking note. CBRE | Raleigh reports the region’s inventory of lab space totaled 9 million square-feet, with an additional 680,000 square-feet under construction as of the end of Q1 2023. The supply of investor-owned space has grown rapidly in recent years to 1.4 million square feet with another 1.3 million square-feet currently under construction.

Research Roundup

Machine Learning Model Identifies Mild Cognitive Impairment from Retinal Scans

A machine learning model developed by Duke Health researchers can differentiate normal cognition from mild cognitive impairment using retinal images from the eye. The model analyzes retinal images and associated data and recognizes specific features to identify individuals with mild cognitive impairment. The model shows the potential for a non-invasive and inexpensive method of identifying the early signs of cognitive impairment that could progress to Alzheimer’s disease, Duke announced.

Improving Suicide Prevention Among Head and Neck Cancer Patients 

Patients with head and neck cancer are two times as likely to die by suicide as patients with other types of cancers, studies show. Osazuwa-Peters, an associate professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Communications Sciences at the Duke University School of Medicine, received funding from a National Institutes of Health training grant to conduct a three-part study to assess suicide risk among head and neck cancer patients at Duke. The goal of the study is to implement a systematic suicide screening process in the head and neck cancer clinic and ultimately across all cancer sites.  

Bacterium Associated With Disease Found in N.C. Chiggers

A bacterium that causes a disease called scrub typhus, which is a disease not previously seen in the United States, has been detected in North Carolina, according to a new study by researchers at North Carolina State University and UNC-Greensboro. Scrub typhus is typically found in Asia and the Pacific, but has been detected in Africa and the Middle East. N.C. State researchers detected the bacterium at a “high frequency” while testing free-living, larval trombiculid mites, commonly called chiggers, found in several different parks across North Carolina. Chiggers can spread bacteria to people or rodents when they bite, and can also pass bacteria to future generations of mites through their eggs.

People on the Move

Syneos Health Appoints Hillary Bochniak as Chief Human Resources Officer

Syneos Health appointed Hillary Bochniak as Chief Human Resources Officer. Bochniak joins Syneos Health from Accenture where she spent nearly 30 years in human resources (HR) roles of increasing scope and responsibility. Most recently, she served as the Managing Director, Global HR Lead for Strategic Accounts and Sales.

Julie Freischlag is Chair-Elect of the Association of American Medical Colleges Board

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) named Dr. Julie Freischlag, chief academic officer and executive vice president of Advocate Health, chief executive officer of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, and executive vice president for health affairs at Wake Forest University, as chair-elect of its board of directors. Her one-year term as chair will begin in November 2024. Freischlag will also serve on the 2023-2024 AAMC board of directors. Freischlag is a past president of the American College of Surgeons, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015 and was inducted into the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators in 2021. She is also a practicing vascular surgeon specializing in the treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome.

Collaborations Pharmaceuticals Featured in New Netflix Documentary

Raleigh-based Collaborations Pharmaceuticals uses machine learning software to analyze publicly available data, organizes and integrates that information, and then builds models to find the most promising molecules to treat specific diseases. After appearing at a conference on chemical and biological warfare, the company discussed the premise of its drug discovery platform being used to discover newer and deadlier chemical and biological weapons. A tweak of its program revealed the ease with which AI could rapidly generate huge amounts of data that might speed up the development process and has now been featured in a new documentary. 

APIE Therapeutics Appoints New CEO

Preclinical regenerative medicines company APIE Therapeutics named industry veteran, Ashwin Datt as CEO and a member of its Board of Directors. Datt succeeds Esther Alegria, who co-founded the company and served as CEO from 2020 through the present. Datt was previously CEO of Carousel Therapeutics, a start-up developing engineered T-cells for oncology applications. Earlier, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Gyroscope Therapeutics, Sana Biotechnology, Juno Therapeutics, Vitrisia Therapeutics, Genentech and GRAIL, Inc. 

RTP plays Host to 2023 Biostimulants Summit

ACI’s US Biostimulants Summit 2023, held in Raleigh, brought together leading executives and experts from across the entire value chain (producers of biostimulant and plant nutrient products, farmers and agriculture suppliers, technology providers, research institutes & government representatives) for two days of informative presentations, interactive discussion & excellent networking opportunities. The agenda includes information on current biostimulant market conditions, improving the production supply chain, and strategies for streamlining the product lifestyle.