August 25, 2026

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Emmes Group today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Dr. Rama Kondru as Chief Executive Officer, reflecting the company's commitment to advancing next-generation clinical trials that improve quality, speed, and patient outcomes.

This appointment reflects the Board's confidence in Dr. Kondru's ability to drive innovation and operational excellence and underscores its commitment to advancing clinical research through scientific excellence, technology, and artificial intelligence.


Dr. Kondru joined the Emmes Group in 2024 and most recently served as CEO of Veridix, the company's AI, technology, and data sciences business. He assumes the role at a pivotal moment for Emmes: a company built on almost 50 years of scientific rigor now positioned to combine that legacy with modern AI and technology to accelerate the pace of biomedical discovery. Dr. Kondru has demonstrated exceptional leadership in technology-driven innovation across The Emmes Group and brings a combination of scientific expertise, global operating experience, and a track record of scaling technology platforms, making him ideally suited to lead the company's next phase of growth.

The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation is hosting a morning event on September 8 focused on how local employers are winning the competition for skilled workers. Held during Workforce Development Month at The Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, the program runs from 9:30 a.m. to noon and opens with networking and light refreshments before the main session at 10:00. Dr. Anne Khademian, Executive Director of The Universities at Shady Grove, moderates, with welcome remarks from MCEDC President and CEO Jared Smith and an opening from Anthony Featherstone of WorkSource Montgomery.

The panel brings together talent and workforce leaders from Lockheed Martin, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Thales Defense & Security, TrilliumBIO, and Montgomery College to talk about building pipelines through university and workforce partnerships, the regional trends shaping expansion decisions, and the economic development incentives available to companies hiring here. It's aimed at founders, executives, investors, and business leaders weighing where to grow. The event is complimentary, but seating is limited and registration is required.

The BioHealth Capital Region Investment Conference returns September 17, bringing together companies seeking capital, visibility and strategic partners with investors looking for promising biohealth opportunities.

The partnering portal IS OPEN! In, giving registered companies and investors the opportunity to review profiles and begin making connections before the conference. If you have not registered yet, now is the time. Just as important, make sure your profile is complete so others can find you and understand what you are looking for.

Companies with stronger profiles will be better positioned for investor visibility, and investors will have more information to identify companies that fit their interests. If you want to take part in the partnering process, register and complete your profile before the portal opens.

SILVER SPRING, Md. & RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR), a public benefit corporation, today announced that the FDA has accepted the New Drug Application (NDA) for ralinepag to treat PAH. The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act target action date of June 24, 2027. Ralinepag has not been approved for use in any indication by the FDA and remains investigational for PAH.

“Ralinepag has the potential to make an important difference for adults living with PAH — a complex, progressive, and life-threatening disease that can severely impact daily life and lead to right heart failure,” said Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D., Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of United Therapeutics. “With the NDA now accepted for review, we are one step closer to offering PAH patients a new, once-daily oral treatment. In our clinical trial, ralinepag delayed disease progression, achieved clinical improvement, and provided durability of effect over many years. We attribute these robust results to its unique chemistry and multi-pathway effects, including vasodilation and anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory activity.”

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Vanda) (Nasdaq: VNDA) today announced that its investigational drug imsidolimab has received Orphan Designation from the European Commission, based on the positive opinion received from the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP), for the treatment of Generalized Pustular Psoriasis (GPP), which is a severe, chronic, and potentially life-threatening inflammatory skin disease driven by dysregulation in the interleukin-36 (IL-36) signaling pathway.1 The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have previously granted Orphan Drug Designation to imsidolimab for the treatment of GPP.

Applications are now being accepted for the BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap Competition, returning as part of the 12th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Week, taking place September 15, 16, and 17, 2026, at US Pharmacopeia in Rockville, Maryland. Apply today at https://bit.ly/CrabTrap2026.

The Crab Trap Competition highlights promising early-stage biohealth companies developing new technologies, products, and solutions across therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, digital health, research tools, and other areas of life sciences innovation. Each year, the competition gives selected entrepreneurs the opportunity to present their companies in front of experienced investors, industry leaders, subject matter experts, and regional ecosystem partners. Prizes include $15,000 in cash and $20,000 in services with more being added before now and the competition.

The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research will host its 2026 Technology Showcase on Wednesday, September 9, at the Advanced Technology Research Facility in Frederick, Maryland. The event brings together researchers, industry leaders, investors, and technology transfer professionals for an afternoon focused on innovation, commercialization, and collaboration. The program begins with networking, lunch, and one-on-one partnering, followed by a keynote address from Jeff Allen, Ph.D., President and CEO of Friends of Cancer Research.


Attendees will hear presentations highlighting research capabilities and technologies available through Frederick National Laboratory and the National Cancer Institute, along with funder pitches from organizations including Ecphora Capital, TEDCO, and Blood Cancer United. The agenda also features panels on best practices for partnering with NCI and FNL and strategies for moving technologies efficiently through FDA review, as well as presentations showcasing FNL research tools, software, and NCI technologies.

In this episode of BioTalk with Rich Bendis, Travis McCready, Head of Industries, Leasing Advisory at JLL, joins the conversation to discuss quantum computing, why real estate professionals are paying attention, and what this emerging technology could mean for regions like the BioHealth Capital Region.

Listen via your favorite podcast platform:

Apple: https://apple.co/4ggQLHM

Spotify: https://bit.ly/465vcoY

iHeart Podcasts: https://ihr.fm/4670fkc

Amazon Podcasts: https://amzn.to/3vpZDHI

YouTube Music Podcasts: https://bit.ly/4cE5CuP

TuneIn: https://bit.ly/4xIayXR

Sponsorship opportunities are available for the 12th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Week, September 15–17, 2026, at US Pharmacopeia in Rockville, Maryland.

Sponsors help keep BHCR Week free to attend while gaining visibility with biohealth leaders, investors, emerging companies, academic institutions, government partners, and regional collaborators across the BioHealth Capital Region Forum, Crab Trap Competition, and Investment Conference.

Sponsorship also provides access to one of the most valuable parts of the week: the VIP Leadership Dinner. This smaller, invite-only gathering brings together senior executives, investors, speakers, public-sector leaders, university partners, and key opinion leaders in a more focused setting than the daytime program. For sponsors, it is an opportunity to build relationships, have higher-value conversations, and connect directly with people who are helping shape the future of the BioHealth Capital Region.

BHCR Week sponsors are recognized across event materials, signage, the registration site, and BHI communications, providing visibility before and during the event. Sponsorship is a strong way to support regional collaboration while positioning your organization in front of the companies, investors, researchers, and partners driving biohealth growth.

To learn more, contact Rich Bendis at rbendis@biohealthinnovation.org and Andy Eckert at aeckert@biohealthinnovation.org.

Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures has released its FY26 annual report, and the top-line number is close to $100 million in commercialization revenue. Licensing accounted for $65 million of that across 120 active agreements, with 349 licensed products now on the market and another 360 in development.

The startup figures carry the regional story. Portfolio companies raised $151 million in venture capital over the year, and 77 percent of it, about $116 million, went to companies that stayed in Baltimore. JHTV now tracks 142 active startups, 17 of which launched in FY26. That retention rate is the metric worth watching, because it separates a university that produces good science from one that anchors an economy around it.

Several portfolio companies hit real clinical and regulatory marks. Bayesian Health received FDA clearance for an AI sepsis early warning system that flags cases up to 48 hours ahead of current practice and reduced deaths by nearly 20 percent. Ashvattha Therapeutics reported Phase 2 data showing an 80 percent reduction in injection frequency for patients treated for vision loss. RapaFusyn Pharmaceuticals closed a $44 million Series A, and Phantom Neuro won approval for first-in-human trials of its neural interface for prosthetic control.

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MaxCyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: MXCT), a leading, cell-engineering focused company providing enabling platform technologies to advance the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation cell therapeutics, today announced the launch of the CHANGE-seq-BE™ and ONE-seq-BE™ off-target nomination assays. Available through MaxCyte’s SeQure™ service, these assays address a key gap in genome editing characterization by offering sensitive nomination of off-target sites for adenine and cytosine base editors (ABEs and CBEs).

SeQure provides integrated reporting across orthogonal nomination assays, enabling therapeutic developers to identify overlapping and distinct nominated sites and to prioritize regions for confirmation assays. CHANGE-seq-BE is a sensitive, unbiased biochemical off-target nomination method for base editors, and ONE-seq-BE is the only nomination assay for base editors that provides full visibility of population-specific genetic variants that may impact off-target activity. By combining these two assays, MaxCyte is uniquely positioned as a single-source provider of orthogonal nomination assays for base editors. Together with SeQure’s existing confirmation assays for quantitative off-target editing measurement and structural variation detection, therapeutic developers can confidently assess off-target risks in the relevant cell and tissue context. This is especially important as developers work to align with evolving regulatory expectations – including recent FDA guidance on off-target editing and genome safety – with a growing emphasis on orthogonal assays, assay sensitivity, and modality-appropriate methods.

August 19, 2026 — ROCKVILLE, MD:  NeoImmuneTech, Inc. (KOSDAQ: 950220; CEO: Taekyung Kim), a global biotechnology company focused on T-cell-based immunotherapies, announced today that it has entered into a licensing agreement with U.S.-based biotechnology company Tolerance Bio, Inc. (“Tolerance Bio”) for the exclusive development and commercialization rights to NT-I7 (efineptakin alfa) for the treatment of indications related to Thymic Insufficiency, including immune reconstitution in people living with HIV in the Americas and Europe.

The agreement represents NeoImmuneTech’s first out-licensing transaction since its KOSDAQ listing and marks an important milestone in the external validation of NT-I7’s technological value and commercial potential in the global market.

Under the terms of the agreement, NeoImmuneTech will receive equity consideration, representing 4% of Tolerance Bio on a fully diluted basis, as upfront consideration. NeoImmuneTech is also eligible to receive up to USD 260 million (approximately KRW 367 billion) in development and sales milestone payments. In addition, the company will be entitled to tiered royalties on annual net sales following commercialization. 

The transaction is also meaningful in that it extends the potential value of the NT-I7 platform beyond NeoImmuneTech’s current development indications into a new therapeutic area. Under the company’s strategy, therapeutic areas that NeoImmuneTech is not currently developing directly may be advanced through specialized partners, while NeoImmuneTech continues to focus its resources on core development programs, including immuno-oncology.