May 27, 2026

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) is pleased to announce the addition of Caroline Popper and Julie Wilkinson as Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs). Together, they bring decades of experience across medical technology, diagnostics, digital health, commercialization strategy, FDA pathways, manufacturing, corporate development, and venture-building.

Popper is a business leader, physician, and lawyer with more than 30 years of experience in medical technology, diagnostics, and the life sciences. Her work has focused on technologies and services that improve healthcare efficiency, with a growing emphasis on the intersection of healthcare, biology, technology, and artificial intelligence.

She has held operational and strategic roles at BD and bioMérieux, served as Chief Business Officer of MDS Proteomics, founded Popper and Company, and co-founded The Sherpanis with Julie Wilkinson. She also served as Chief Commercial Officer of Johns Hopkins Precision Medicine and led commercialization activities for the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab Healthcare Mission Area. She currently serves as co-chair of the American Bar Association Healthcare Section AI Task Force.

In this episode of BioTalk with Rich Bendis, Jared Smith, MBA, CEcD, President and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, joins the conversation to discuss his new role leading economic development efforts in one of the nation’s most important biohealth markets.

Jared shares how his experience in Louisiana and Nevada shaped his approach to economic development, including the importance of diversification, business retention, workforce strategy, and bringing partners together around shared goals. He also explains MCEDC’s role as a public-private partnership and how the organization works with local government, chambers, business leaders, nonprofits, academic institutions, and other stakeholders to support companies across Montgomery County.

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) congratulates Prashant Panchal, MS, MBA, a member of the BHI Board of Directors, on his recent promotion at AstraZeneca from Director to Senior Director. His new business title is Head of Portfolio, Capacity and Business Operations.

In this role, Panchal’s scope is focused on the Biopharmaceutical Development department within Biopharma R&D. The team supports all biologics projects, helping advance the planning, operations, and coordination needed to move complex programs forward across AstraZeneca’s biologics portfolio.

“I’m excited to step into this new role and grateful for the opportunity to lead Portfolio, Capacity, and Business Operations for Biopharmaceutical Development at AstraZeneca. This is a tremendous opportunity to continue supporting our world-class scientists and engineers as we advance a complex biologics portfolio, deliver innovative therapies that make a meaningful difference for patients, and contribute to the local life sciences ecosystem.”

COLUMBIA, Md., (May 21, 2026) — The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission (“Commission”) announced 38 new awards totaling $12,665,189 through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (“MSCRF” or the “Fund”) to support cutting-edge stem cell and regenerative medicine research, technology development and commercialization across Maryland. MSCRF is an independent program within TEDCO.

The awards will support researchers and companies advancing transformative therapies and technologies across 32 medical conditions and diseases, including diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, sickle cell disease, chronic pain and cardiovascular, bone, blood, digestive and neurological disorders. Funding was awarded through MSCRF’s Discovery, Fellowship, Launch, Validation, Commercialization and Clinical programs, reflecting the Fund’s continued commitment to supporting the full regenerative medicine innovation pipeline — from early-stage research through clinical translation and company growth.

BETHESDA, Md., May 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Vaccine Company, Inc. (Vaccine Company), a privately held pre-clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for infectious diseases, today announced entry into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Lilly.

Vaccine Company's proprietary In Vivo Nanoparticle (IVN) technologies are designed to enable the antigen display known to elicit durable immune responses associated with virus-like particle vaccines, while avoiding the manufacturing burden of traditional VLP production. The company is advancing a broad preclinical pipeline spanning multiple viral pathogens; the lead program applies this technology to Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) with a five-antigen Phase 1-ready candidate. Given the growing evidence linking EBV to multiple sclerosis and several malignancies, a prophylactic vaccine could prevent not only acute infectious mononucleosis but also the long-term neurological and oncological consequences that may follow infection.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will acquire Vaccine Company, and Vaccine Company equity holders could receive up to $1.55 billion in cash, inclusive of an upfront payment and subsequent payments payable upon the achievement of specified clinical and commercial milestones.

GERMANTOWN, Md., May 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Precigen, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGEN), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the advancement of innovative precision medicines to improve the lives of patients, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug exclusivity for PAPZIMEOS™ (zopapogene imadenovec-drba) for the treatment of adults with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). PAPZIMEOS was granted full approval by the FDA in August 2025, becoming the first and only approved treatment for adults with RRP, a rare, chronic and debilitating disease. PAPZIMEOS is commercially available in the US and is being prescribed nationwide across both major medical centers and community practices, with patients spanning a range of disease severities actively receiving treatment.

Orphan drug exclusivity is granted to certain drugs and biologics approved for rare diseases or conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. The orphan drug exclusivity granted by the FDA for PAPZIMEOS for the treatment of adults with RRP is effective through August 14, 2032, providing seven years of market exclusivity in the US from the PAPZIMEOS approval date.

Richmond, VA, (May 21, 2026) – Every two years, the Virginia Biotechnology Association recognizes individual Virginians for their significant contributions to bioscience and the Virginia biotechnology ecosystem. On April 30, Scott Meza, Esq., Shareholder at Greenberg Traurig LLP, and Nikki Hastings, Ph.D., President of CvilleBioHub, were presented with the Outstanding Contributions to Bioscience Award at Virginia Bio’s THRiVE 2026 statewide conference in Richmond, Virginia.

For over two decades, Scott Meza has been a dedicated builder within Virginia’s bioscience community—mentoring entrepreneurs, advising innovators, and serving as a committed steward of Virginia Bio. If there is a Virginia Bio company success, chances are very good that Scott played a part, in front and behind the scenes, the most recent being Embody’s successful $375 million exit to global medical technology leader Zimmer Biomet. Throughout his career, he has guided mergers and...

COLUMBIA, Md., (May 22, 2026) — TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced that the organization’s president, Tammi Thomas, was reappointed as president of the Maryland Economic Development Association’s (MEDA) Board of Directors. She began her two-year term on April 28, 2025, during the 2025 MEDA Annual Conference and was reappointed during the 2026 MEDA Annual Conference that took place April 26-28, 2026.


Established in 1961, MEDA is a nonprofit organization of professionals committed to promoting the well-being of Maryland by working to improve the state’s business climate and the professionalism of those in the field of economic development. Each year, the organization puts together a two-day conference, gathering professionals together to help connect across regions, learn about current practices and projects, and brainstorming solutions for Maryland’s continued growth. Currently, the organization includes more than 550 economic development experts.

BioHealth Capital Region Week will return on September 15 through 17, 2026, at US Pharmacopeia in Rockville, Maryland, bringing together leaders from industry, academia, government, and investment for three days focused on the future of one of the nation’s leading biohealth ecosystems. The event will again feature the BioHealth Capital Region Forum, the Crab Trap Competition, and the Investment Conference.

This year’s Forum theme, “Growing the BioHealth Capital Region of Tomorrow,” reflects both the region’s momentum and the need for continued collaboration at a time when many organizations are navigating a more uncertain funding environment. As public funding conditions shift, the region’s long-term strength will depend on its ability to deepen partnerships, support commercialization, attract investment, and build new pathways for growth. The Forum will serve as a place for those conversations to happen.

WASHINGTON, May 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SXTP; SXTPW) (the “Company” or 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing new medicines for vector-borne disease, announced that the first patient of the 2026 tick season has been enrolled in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (NCT06207370) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tafenoquine in treating babesiosis in humans.

The study, which will enroll at least 24 patients prior to an interim analysis, is being conducted at five clinical sites in the Northeastern United States. The two main endpoints of the trial (clinical symptom resolution and parasite clearance) will be subject to separate interim analyses as data become available.

This patient enrollment puts the Company approximately one month ahead of schedule in recruiting trial participants for the 2026 tick season, suggesting that minimum enrollment in the study could be achieved as soon as early July. Approximately 50 days following enrollment completion, the Company intends to announce the planned date of the interim analyses of study data.

VENLO, Netherlands & GERMANTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced the global launch of QIA Agent, an AI-powered digital assistant designed to simplify how researchers plan experiments, identify suitable products, access technical information and manage ordering support through a single conversational interface.

“Researchers today are navigating growing scientific complexity, increasing volumes of data and expanding workflow choices,” said Nitin Sood, Senior Vice President and Head of Product Portfolio & Innovation at QIAGEN. “QIA Agent is designed to simplify how researchers interact with scientific information, workflow guidance and operational support through a single AI-powered experience. By embedding conversational AI into our digital ecosystem, we aim to help customers move faster from questions to decisions across Sample to Insight workflows.”

As laboratories generate increasing amounts of data and workflows become more complex, researchers are seeking more intuitive ways to access scientific expertise, technical guidance and operational support. Conversational AI is emerging as a new interface layer for scientific workflows, helping reduce friction across research, purchasing and laboratory operations.

FREDERICK, Md., May 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNAC) (the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering cell therapy for autoimmune diseases, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with K2 HealthVentures LLC (“K2HV”), an alternative investment firm that provides flexible, long-term financing solutions in life sciences, to provide a credit facility of up to $150 million including an initial $50 million tranche. The proceeds from the initial tranche under the credit facility are expected to allow the Company to accelerate the ongoing investment in the commercial launch preparation activities for Descartes-08 in myasthenia gravis (MG) and myositis and to extend cash runway into 2028. The Company also announced progress across its pipeline, including updated timelines for all ongoing trials of Descartes-08, an autologous anti-B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) mRNA chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T).

“We are very excited to partner with K2 HealthVentures for this financing, which we expect to provide us with access to the additional capital necessary to help support our continued growth. With this additional financing, we believe we are now fully funded beyond anticipated timelines for achievement of three near-term...