February 10, 2025

BioTalk with Rich Bendis wants to hear from its audience about the voices that deserve the mic. A new guest submission form is now live at https://bit.ly/BioTalkGuest, making it easy for listeners, partners, and community members to recommend leaders shaping the future of biohealth.

BioTalk is a long-running podcast hosted by Rich Bendis that focuses on the real stories behind innovation in the life sciences. The show features open, unscripted conversations with founders, executives, scientists, investors, policymakers, and ecosystem builders who are moving ideas from lab to market. Topics range from company building and commercialization to policy, workforce, capital, and collaboration. The goal is clarity and perspective, grounded in experience.

ROCKVILLE, Md. and SUZHOU, China, Feb. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ascentage Pharma Group International (NASDAQ: AAPG; HKEX: 6855), a global, commercial stage, integrated biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel, differentiated therapies to address unmet medical needs in cancer, announced that its novel next-generation Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK)-targeted protein degrader, APG-3288, has received investigational new drug (IND) application clearance from the China Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) and is poised to enter a clinical study in patients with relapsed/refractory hematologic malignancies. This IND clearance from the China CDE, which came shortly after the IND was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ushers in a new phase in...

By Alex Philippidis - February 3, 2026 - For months, executives in biopharma and other life sciences have been expressing optimism that in 2026, the industry will emerge from its post-COVID-19 doldrums. They have cited positive trends ranging from the rebound of the market for biotech stocks, to a spate of initial public offering (IPO) filings in recent weeks, to an uptick in merger-and-acquisition (M&A) deals

The most recent sign of hope emerged last week when commercial real estate firm CBRE published its Fourth Quarter 2025 report on the U.S. life sciences market. The report showed the first quarterly decline since the second quarter of 2022 in the vacancy rate for lab/R&D space for the top 13 markets as ranked by CBRE—down 30 basis points (0.3%) to 23.0%, helped by a slowdown in new construction and increases in demand for space.

In 2012, a small group in Richmond launched Virginia’s first startup accelerator.

Developed into a year-round entrepreneur support organization, Lighthouse Network never tried to be flashy. But it was consistent: Year upon year, cohorts shipped, mentors showed up, founders found peers. Like any developing entrepreneur strategy in the 2010s, it wasn’t perfect, but one of the primary strengths was anchoring what we now call an “entrepreneurial ecosystem building” strategy.

A new national study suggests that model is paying off.

The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s Advancing Regional Innovation Economies (ARIE) report, released last fall and featuring analysis by Heartland Forward, argues Richmond is now one of the country’s best at supporting fast-growth entrepreneurs.

By Kieran Smith

The “BioHealth Capital Region” is a unique economic asset facing certain problems. Artificial intelligence (AI) provides an opportunity to address those problems, enhancing the region’s impact on the surrounding area and the broader nation. Stretching from Baltimore to Virginia, the corridor is home to critical regulatory agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as well as established institutions such as Johns Hopkins and MedStar Health. Decisions, discoveries, and innovations that originate here shape those made across the nation.

The sector’s importance to Maryland’s economy cannot be overstated. While overall employment in the state declined 0.4 percent between November 2024 and 2025, Education and Health Services grew 3.2 percent, the fastest rate of any industry. As manufacturing, professional services, and trade sectors contract, healthcare stands as one of the few engines of job growth keeping Maryland’s economy afloat.

by Jonathan Kay, MPP, Managing Partner, Health Market Experts & BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Entrepreneur-in-Residence

To recap, the first 5 posts of our series covered:

Test, Don’t Guess: Adopt a data-driven mindset about messaging impact

Know Your Stakeholders: Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach

Listen First: What are your stakeholders saying and how?

Message Anatomy: Ensure messages get the job done

Measuring Success: Define metrics of success upfront

Insight 6: Just Start

It’s true we want to pursue all 5 tactics above. But that doesn’t mean we always can. Sometimes clients or would-be clients insist:

Time is too limited, so they can’t test

The target audience is rare or ultra rare, so they can’t test

🛑 Hold on! Don’t skip testing even in these situations. As the saying goes, Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.(That’s typically attributed to surgeons!🥼)

BioHealth Innovation is expanding its Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) network and is seeking experienced leaders at the intersection of biohealth and advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

This call is for seasoned operators with a strong commercialization background. Ideal candidates have taken innovations from concept through market entry, licensing, spinout, or acquisition, and understand the realities of regulatory pathways, customer discovery, fundraising, and scale. Experience working with startups, academic technologies, government labs, or early-stage venture-backed companies is essential. EIRs serve in a part time advisory role with BHI, working flexibly alongside other professional commitments while contributing hands on commercialization expertise.

Email BHI Founder, President, CEO Rich Bendis if you are interested.

The Benefits in Being Attacked - Joe Allen, Executive Director, Bayh-Dole Coalition.

While it’s certainly not fun, recent attacks on the Bayh-Dole system catalyzed the greatest alliance in its defense since the law was enacted 45 years ago. Until recently, debates over tech transfer policy were relegated to theoretical debates drawing little national attention. Now the issue is front and center in discussions on the nature and purpose of government and how to grow our economy while maintaining our technological lead over countries across the globe. That’s quite a change. 

Being challenged on the fundamental principles of Bayh-Dole forced us to present our arguments in a straightforward, jargon-free manner, while documenting our claims. That resonated with policy makers. the media, and the general public in ways we wouldn’t have thought possible just a few years ago. Previously, media coverage of Bayh-Dole issues was inspired by our critics and we got short shrift. That’s no longer the case.   

Korea's biohealth industry is expected to grow nearly 21 percent this year on constant demand for cosmetics and medicines, a local think tank said Tuesday.

According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (Khidi), the global biohealth industry, which encompasses pharmaceuticals, medical devices and cosmetics, is estimated to grow 6.2 percent to $15.77 trillion this year from $14.85 trillion in 2025.

Korea's biohealth industry, on the other hand, is projected to post 20.8 percent growth to $290 billion from $240 billion, it said in a report.

Khidi highlighted that the projected annual growth rate of 20.8 percent would mark the highest since 2019.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SXTP; SXTPW) (“60 Degrees Pharma” or the “Company”), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing new medicines for vector-borne disease, today announced a partnership with GoodRx (Nasdaq: GDRX), the leading platform for prescription savings in the U.S., to offer eligible consumers savings of up to 30% on ARAKODA® (tafenoquine).

ARAKODA is the only FDA-approved, broad spectrum, once-weekly prescription malaria prevention on the U.S. market. ARAKODA is a treatment of choice by travelers departing to regions of the world where malaria is endemic.

Caused by the bite of the Anopheles mosquito, malaria is one of the most serious...

LAKE ZURICH, Ill. & RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fresenius Kabi and Phlow Corp. announced today a first-of-its-kind collaboration to onshore the manufacture of Epinephrine Injection, USP, an essential medicine long at risk of chronic shortage in the U.S. and widely used in hospitals nationwide.

The arrangement, which includes the domestic manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished doses, is designed to be scalable to other essential medicines.

Under the agreement, Phlow will produce the API for Epinephrine Injection, USP, and Fresenius Kabi will perform the formulation and production of finished doses for hospitals and clinics. Phlow recently completed a successful U.S.-based validation campaign for epinephrine API and filed a Drug Master File (DMF) with FDA, positioning it as the emerging domestic source for onshoring API production.

RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 5, 2026 – Activation Capital today announced enhancements to Frontier BioHealth, building on the program’s successful 2024 launch and inaugural cohort while reinforcing its broader continuum of life sciences entrepreneurship programs designed to help science-driven companies progress toward commercialization and investor readiness.

Frontier BioHealth was created to address a critical gap facing emerging biohealth founders: access to practical guidance, sector-specific expertise, and trusted connections needed to translate scientific innovation into scalable, investable companies. Following its first cohort, the program is advancing with deeper advisory engagement and a more flexible delivery model informed by founder feedback and early outcomes.

The evolution of Frontier BioHealth continues Activation Capital’s collaboration...

ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- REGENXBIO Inc. (Nasdaq: RGNX) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Complete Response Letter (CRL) regarding its Biologics License Application (BLA) for RGX-121 (clemidsogene lanparvovec) for the treatment of Mucopolysaccharidosis II (MPS II), an ultra-rare neurodegenerative disease also known as Hunter syndrome.

In May 2025, the FDA accepted the RGX-121 BLA under the accelerated approval pathway. In the February 7, 2026 CRL, the FDA stated that it had agreed to the study protocol in principle and outlined several reasons for not approving the gene therapy, including uncertainty regarding the study eligibility criteria to adequately define a population with neuronopathic disease (vs. attenuated disease), the comparability of the natural history external control to the study population, and the appropriateness of CSF HS D2S6 as a surrogate endpoint reasonably likely to...

Maryland is advancing a new frontier where quantum science meets the life sciences. This event brings together leaders from academia, industry, and government to explore how quantum computing, sensing, and policy are shaping the next generation of biomedical discovery, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Speakers will share practical insights on emerging applications, workforce and infrastructure needs, and the role Maryland is playing as a national hub for quantum innovation. Designed for researchers, life science professionals, entrepreneurs, and those seeking a clearer view of this rapidly evolving field, the program offers time for conversation and connection alongside expert discussion. Sponsored by the Maryland Department of Commerce, the event will be held at UM BioPark in Baltimore on Thursday, February 26, 2026, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM.