November 25, 2025

Nov 21 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab said on Friday it will invest $2 billion to expand its manufacturing footprint in Maryland as part of its previously announced $50 billion plan to expand manufacturing and research capabilities in the U.S. by 2030.

Global pharmaceutical companies have been ramping up investments in the United States to expand production capacity, following President Donald Trump's call for the industry to make more medicines domestically instead of importing active ingredients or finished products.

RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) and AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly (Lilly), and Merck to develop the Virginia Center for Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (APM) was executed by Governor Glenn Youngkin at a statewide gathering with key leaders from Virginia’s life sciences ecosystem, higher-ed universities, and community colleges on October 31. This landmark...

Rockville, Md. – The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) today announced Jared Smith as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective December 8, 2025.

Smith brings more than 20 years of economic development and business experience across local and state government to the role. Most recently, he served as Director of Economic Development and Tourism for the City of Henderson in Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), serving more than two million residents.

COLUMBIA, Md., (November 24, 2025) — TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent $500,000 Maryland Equity Investment Fund (MEIF) investment in VerImmune, Inc. The MEIF – which is housed under TEDCO’s Venture Funds – was created to increase private equity and venture capital in Maryland, generate financial returns, and foster economic growth.

VerImmune, Inc

., located in Germantown, Md., is developing an innovative Virus-inspired Particle (ViP) platform delivery...

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a leading public-private nonprofit organization supporting healthcare innovation in the BioHealth Capital Region, announces the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors: Matthew Keesan, Vice President and GM of Quantum Platform at IonQ, and Prashant Panchal, Director of Business Planning and Operations at AstraZeneca. Their backgrounds strengthen BHI’s commitment to advancing a region known for scientific leadership, emerging technologies, and next-generation workforce development.

In this episode of BioTalk, CEO Gerard Eldering explains how Perfusion Medical is addressing a problem that trauma physicians and military medics have been struggling with for decades: capillary compression. Perfusion Medical is developing a drug aimed at treating hemorrhagic shock and other ischemic conditions. PM‑208 is a novel IV therapeutic designed to restore capillary blood flow, resolve ischemia, and protect vital organs. The team has advanced this work with $19 million in Department of Defense funding. He describes the scale of the unmet need, why PM‑208 is both organ- and disease‑agnostic, and how its simple formulation and strong safety profile position it for broad medical use.

BALTIMORE, MD (November 18, 2025) — Governor Wes Moore today announced that Korean biotechnology company Nature Cell is establishing a significant location in Maryland. The company is planning to open a manufacturing facility in Baltimore City at 1401 Severn Street at the mixed-use complex Gaslight Square. The approximately 100,000 square-foot operation will be completed in two phases through 2031 and bring an estimated 500 new full-time jobs to the region. 

“Maryland continues to lead in life sciences innovation and Nature Cell's investment reinforces our reputation as a global hub for biotechnology and advanced research," said Gov. Moore. "We are pleased that...

COLUMBIA, Md. (November 18, 2025) — The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission (MSCRC) today announced the opening of its second funding cycle for fiscal year 2026 (FY26), inviting bold proposals that accelerate stem cell research, translation, and commercialization in Maryland.

Funding is available, through Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF), across seven grant programs — Manufacturing Assistance, Clinical, Validation, Commercialization, Discovery, Fellowship, and Launch — supporting projects at every stage, from early discovery to clinical application and manufacturing.

Applications are due January 12, 2026, no later than 5.00 p.m. EST.

Christy Wyskiel, senior advisor to the president for innovation and entrepreneurship and executive director of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, describes how many familiar technologies began as university research supported by federal funding. She traces the path from early scientific work to tools like GPS, spreadsheets, autonomous systems, and advances in cancer detection, showing how long it can take for basic research to turn into products people use every day. Her focus stays on the university environment, where ideas can develop without pressure from immediate markets and where many breakthroughs first take shape. She outlines why steady investment in this research pipeline matters, since these early projects often grow into industries that influence how people work, travel, and manage their health.

Autonomous Interventions and Robotics, known as AIR, is a new program designed to widen access to procedures that often depend on scarce specialists. The initiative centers on autonomous systems capable of carrying out an entire intervention without direct human control. Its early focus includes time sensitive treatments such as stroke thrombectomies where delays can shape long term outcomes.

If the program reaches its goals, AIR could shift complex care from major surgical centers to settings that are closer to patients. ARPA-H is inviting teams across engineering, medicine, and industry to explore solutions that make these capabilities reliable, safe, and widely available. 

This month, a new Northern Virginia International Soft-Landing Accelerator (NISA) program, designed to help start-ups from around the globe find guidance, connections, and lab or office spaces at no cost, was launched to help develop new technologies in life sciences.

Applications will soon open for the first NISA cohort. Participants in the six-month program will have access to George Mason University’s cutting-edge labs, research, and strong business and government network across the region, propelling ideas from lab to market quickly. Selected companies can work from lab or office space at Endeavor234 and Centerfuse while drawing on support from local legal, financial, real estate, and accounting partners to ease their move into the community.

Richmond, Virginia, Nov. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Phlow Corp., a leading American pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced today that its Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Eric S. Edwards, M.D., Ph.D., testified before the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging during a full committee hearing titled “Made in America: Restoring Trust in Our Medicines.” The hearing examined the nation’s dependence on fragile foreign pharmaceutical supply chains and the persistent shortages of essential medicines affecting patients across the United States.

In his statement to the Committee, Dr. Edwards described drug shortages as ongoing crises unfolding daily in emergency rooms, ambulances, and operating suites. Across..