January 6, 2025

A new BioTalk with Rich Bendis episode looks at how Prince William County, VA is building a life sciences Innovation District through a tight partnership between industry, academia, and economic development. The podcast covers the region’s research assets, translational strengths, and what makes this district attractive for biotechnology and advanced R&D companies, along with a practical look at the NISA program and its soft-landing support for companies entering the region.

Guests include Jaehan Park, Founder and CEO of NAUGEN and lead of the NISA Program, Amy Adams, Executive Director of George Mason University’s Institute for Biohealth Innovation, and Christina Winn, Executive Director of the Prince William County Department of Economic Development.

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

By Alex Philippidis - December 23, 2025: Biopharma may see a happier year ahead in 2026 than in recent years, according to analysts at William Blair.

For one thing, the industry’s top stocks have recovered from lows that stretched into last spring. Blair cited the SPDR S&P Biotech exchange-traded fund (NYSE Arca: XBI), which bounced back from $66.66 a share on April 9, nearly doubling (up 85%) to $123.43 on December 19.

Another reason for optimism, the analysts wrote in a recent report, is better-than-expected policies from President Donald Trump’s second administration—from encouraging the reshoring of biopharma manufacturing in the United States to most favored nation (MFN) pricing, which has spared companies from much-feared tariffs in return...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Vanda) (Nasdaq: VNDA) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved NEREUS™ (tradipitant), an oral neurokinin-1 (NK-1) receptor antagonist, for the prevention of vomiting induced by motion. This approval marks the first new pharmacologic treatment in motion sickness in over four decades, representing a significant advancement in the understanding and management of this debilitating physiologic response that affects a substantial portion of the population and has long been recognized as a factor affecting military operational readiness.

"This approval underscores the strong scientific evidence...

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:

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.

In 2025, Innovation District readers gravitated toward stories that explored how research and clinical innovation are reshaping pediatric care in real time. This year’s most popular articles highlighted advances in complex surgical care, evidence-based treatments for chronic and neuropsychiatric conditions and emerging technologies — from wearable data to artificial intelligence — that are changing how clinicians diagnose, treat and support children and families. Read on for our list of the most popular articles we published on Innovation District in 2025.

1. Life-changing care: How Children’s National tackles pediatric cervical spine injuries

The Cervical Spine program at Children’s National Hospital is responsible for treating a range of conditions, including...

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today welcomed South Korea’s largest biotechnology company, Samsung Biologics, as they announced plans to open their first United States manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland. The announcement comes after Governor Moore and Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Harry Coker met with Samsung Biologics executives earlier this year during an international trade and investment mission to Japan and South Korea to promote economic growth and workforce development.

“We are thrilled that Samsung Biologics has selected Maryland for their first U.S. manufacturing facility, a...

Maryland’s life sciences ecosystem continues to attract global biopharmaceutical leaders, as three major international companies—Syngene International, Nature Cell, and Samsung Biologics—announced plans to establish their first U.S. biomanufacturing facilities in the state in 2025. These strategic decisions together are expected to create approximately 800 new jobs and retain more than 500 existing positions, underscoring Maryland’s emergence as a premier destination for advanced manufacturing and global life sciences investment.

Global Firms Choose Maryland as Strategic U.S. Hub

Syngene International, a Bengaluru-based contract research, development...

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Jan. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALT), a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies that address serious liver diseases, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) for pemvidutide, a balanced 1:1 glucagon/GLP-1 dual receptor agonist, for the treatment of patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

Breakthrough Therapy Designation is intended to expedite the development and review of medicines that are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and have shown preliminary clinical evidence indicating the potential for substantial improvement over available therapies on a clinically significant endpoint.