January 13, 2025

Rockville, Maryland, January 12, 2026 - SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals today announced it has entered into a worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement with Novartis Pharma AG, to advance SciNeuro’s novel amyloid beta targeted antibody program for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. The program has identified de novo antibody candidates that incorporate SciNeuro’s proprietary blood brain barrier shuttle technology and offer potential differentiation from existing amyloid beta targeted agents.

SciNeuro and Novartis will collaborate during early development. Novartis will lead all subsequent product development and commercialization on a worldwide basis.

“The anti-amyloid program represents one of SciNeuro’s key strategic R&D priorities to target neurodegenerative...

COLUMBIA, Md., (January 12, 2026) — TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent $250,000 follow-on Inclusion Fund investment in Silvec Biologics. TEDCO’s Inclusion Fund rests under the umbrella of the Social Impact Funds, a group of investment funds dedicated to uplifting underrepresented entrepreneurs across Maryland. 

“Trees, vines and bushes produce around 30% of agricultural products, so when there is a disease, it can be devastating to food production,” said Rafael Simon, CEO of Silvec Biologics. “Thanks to TEDCO’s investment, we look forward to continuing research and development on a lasting solution to protect against various pathogens.”

Silvec Biologics, located in Gaithersburg, Md...

ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- REGENXBIO Inc. (Nasdaq: RGNX) highlighted progress and upcoming anticipated milestones across its pipeline of AAV gene therapies for rare and retinal diseases. 

"2026 is set to be a transformative year for REGENXBIO, as we enter commercial stage with two near-term catalysts from our three late-stage assets and a clear path to sustained growth," said Curran Simpson, President and CEO, REGENXBIO. "We are starting the year with exciting new long-term data for our Duchenne program, demonstrating how our comprehensive strategy to maximize the potential for therapeutic benefit across all our programs is resulting in positive outcomes for patients. We are continuing to set the bar high for how potentially life-changing gene therapies are...

The BioHealth Capital Region closed out 2025 with clear evidence of strength and momentum. While life sciences companies across the country navigated capital constraints, policy uncertainty, and global market shifts, the BHCR region continued to grow. Major manufacturers expanded their U.S. footprints, new facilities came online, research institutions deepened their role in advanced technologies, and investment flowed across companies at every stage. Taken together, these stories show a region that did more than hold its ground. It advanced, adapted, and continued to lead.

The BioHealth Capital Region Maintains a Top 3 National Ranking

For the third consecutive year, the BioHealth Capital Region earned a Top 3 position in GEN’s U.S. Biopharma Cluster Rankings

Fundraising for U.S. venture-capital firms decreased 35 percent last year, the most anemic stretch in at least six years, notes the Wall Street Journal (Jan. 7, Clark). Money flowed primarily to the most trusted investment firms as companies opted to remain private longer rather than expose themselves to public market scrutiny. According to new data from research firm PitchBook, the $66 billion raised in 2025 represents a 70 percent plunge from the 2022 record.

"Fundraising for U.S. venture-capital firms dropped 35% in 2025, the most anemic stretch in at least six years, with money flowing primarily to the most trusted investment firms as companies stay private longer.

The $66 billion raised last year represents a 70% drop from the 2022 record, according to new data from research firm PitchBook."

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Jan. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE: EBS) announced it has received a delivery order valued at up to $21.5 million from the U.S. Department of War to supply BioThrax® (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) in 2026. This order is under Emergent’s existing indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract (W911SR24D0001), led by the Capability Program Executive Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (CPE CBRND), previously the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND), in collaboration with the Defense Health Agency.

“As part of our mission to protect and save lives, we’re proud to help protect...

Last year, I wrote a LinkedIn Article titled “To be or not to be: Just because you CAN, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.” The point was straightforward. Passion and good science are not enough. They never really were. That post was a reaction to what I was seeing across early-stage biotech and MedTech at the time. The environment has not eased since then. If anything, the bar has moved higher.

The requirements for viability are more stringent today than they were even a year ago. Early-stage capital remains difficult to access, particularly at the seed and Series A stages, unless a company has human proof of concept. Angel investors want de-risking. Most venture funds will not underwrite the earliest technical risk. Government funding used to fill that gap. The uncertainty around the reauthorization of innovation investment programs has made it harder to hit commercially meaningful milestones at exactly the stage when companies need that support most. Until policy catches up, founders are forced to seek private capital that is increasingly selective and unforgiving.

In our last two posts of this series, we discussed:

Tactic #1: Test, Don’t Guess (i.e., adopt a data-driven mindset)

Tactic #2: Know Your Stakeholders (i.e., avoid a one-size-fits-all approach)

Insight 3: Listen First

Once you have determined who to speak to, it’s time to focus on how to speak to them.

Recall, we talked about the need to be precise and purposeful:

Who is the message for?

What information do they need?

Will the message fulfill its purpose?

Will the message influence opinions and motivate behavior?

To answer those questions, we listen.

Listening to your target audience can take many forms:

WASHINGTON — Jan. 7, 2026 — The nation’s premier small-business research grant programs remain in legislative limbo as lawmakers race to revive them before a fast-approaching funding deadline. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs – a 40-year-old “America’s seed fund” that has fueled cutting-edge R&D at startups – authority expired on September 30, 2025 after Congress failed to reauthorize them(**). Now, with a potential government shutdown looming on January 30, lawmakers are scrambling for a breakthrough. A last-ditch compromise bill released/circulated as a draft in December by Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, seeks to end the impasse with reforms meant to address the national security and accountability concerns raised by Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, whose objections have stalled the programs’ renewal.

Even in the darkest of times, biopharmaceutical investors and executives usually express optimism in January, when thousands gather in San Francisco for the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference to discuss where the industry is headed.

As the 2026 meeting begins, though, they have reason to feel hopeful. Several indicators of sector health, from stock performance to deals and financings, turned positive in the second half of 2025. The generalist investors that abandoned biotech during a lengthy downturn tiptoed back. In a series of outlook reports late last year, multiple investment banks that follow the sector predicted that the run should continue, at least in the near term.

Still, sentiment could change quickly. Regulatory uncertainty still hangs over the sector, as...

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.

GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GeneDx (Nasdaq: WGS), a leader in delivering improved health outcomes through genomic insights, today announced a strategic partnership with Komodo Health, the leader in AI-powered healthcare intelligence. Through the partnership, GeneDx’s Infinity™ will leverage real-world patient insights from Komodo’s Healthcare Map®, to create the most comprehensive, longitudinal dataset for rare disease. The collaboration will unlock a new level of visibility into how rare diseases are diagnosed, managed, and treated across the full patient journey.

GeneDx Infinity is the world’s largest rare disease genomic dataset, built on more than 25 years of real-world clinical experience. It includes more than 2.5 million genetic tests enriched for rare disease and over 7 million phenotypic data points, with more than half of individuals representing non-European ancestry – making it one of the most diverse and representative rare disease datasets available today. GeneDx Infinity powers the #1 genomic test for rare disease, using world-class clinical interpretation and continuously learning AI to sharpen diagnoses and expand insight with every patient.

Less than a month into his new role as the Montgomery County Economic Development Corp.’s new president and CEO, Jared Smith is already hunting for his No. 2.

Smith, who assumed the agency’s top slot Dec. 8 after a months-long search to fill it, is looking to appoint a chief operating officer to his executive team — his first major move to fill some leadership holes

Jill Brooks has been serving as interim COO since August, tapped through executive search firm Korn Ferry. She took the post from Stacey Hardy, who left in June. The MCEDC declined to comment about Brooks’ next steps.

The MCEDC has published the job listing for the COO gig, which Smith highlighted in a LinkedIn post Monday.

The organization describes the COO as “the CEO’s internal counterpart” who focuses on internal operations, including finances, administration and initiatives. “This position is pivotal in shaping MCEDC’s long-term sustainability, fostering partnerships, and building a high-performing team culture,” the job post reads.

Key responsibilities center around strategy, budget, business operations, business development, culture, talent and leadership development, among other things. The MCEDC pegs the COO salary at $160,000 to $175,000 per year.

BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GANX) (“Gain”, or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the discovery and development of the next generation of allosteric small molecule therapies, today provided additional biomarker and clinical data from the Phase 1b clinical study of GT-02287 in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) with or without a GBA1 mutation that further supports the disease-modifying potential of GT-02287.

In participants with elevated baseline levels of glucosylsphingosine (GluSph) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) at baseline, GluSph decreased by an average of 81% after 90 days of treatment with GT-02287. Elevated GluSph, a hallmark of GCase dysfunction, has been shown to increase the aggregation of alpha synuclein and to impair mitochondrial function and other intracellular processes in neurons. The reduction in GluSph in CSF, a first-ever observation following the administration of a GCase modulator to PD patients, suggests increased GCase activity in the brain, which is expected to impact the progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD).