March 31, 2026

Tony Lakavage, executive vice president and head of Global External Affairs at the US Pharmacopeia (USP). Sat down with PharmTech to discuss the major regulatory, economic, and environmental trends disrupting the pharmaceutical industry. As well as what USP is doing to help the sector adapt.

The Pharmaceutical Industry Is Dealing with Many Disruptions. What Are the Biggest Forces Driving That?

Lakavage: There have been several major trends hitting the industry simultaneously. On the pricing side, we've seen the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) kick in with mandatory price negotiations for high-cost medicines, and that list of selected drugs continues to grow. On top of that, there's the Most Favored Nation (MFN) initiative, through which several large innovator companies have been negotiating medicine prices for federal programs with the administration. Together, these create significant pressure on R&D budgets, investment decisions, and manufacturing. The industry really has never seen this level of pricing disruption all at once.

Are those pricing trends expected to ease, or is this the new normal?

They're built in at this point. IRA will continue expanding, and MFN is set to add new mandatory programs through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Right now MFN has been voluntary, but that's reportedly changing. So these pressures are going to be with us. The downstream effects will eventually reach the generics industry too, not just innovators, though the timeline there is longer.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CvilleBioHub Appoints Nikki Hastings as President, Marking New Phase of Growth and Regional Leadership

Charlottesville, VA — March 26, 2026: CvilleBioHub today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Nikki Hastings as President, recognizing her leadership in building the organization into a cornerstone of Central Virginia’s life sciences ecosystem and positioning it for continued growth and influence.

The appointment comes as CvilleBioHub prepares to celebrate its 10th anniversary and marks one year since the launch of the Commonwealth BioAccelerator—milestones that underscore the organization’s accelerating impact across the region.

Since co-founding CvilleBioHub, Hastings has led the organization’s evolution from an emerging, community-focused initiative into a sought-after resource for founders, researchers, and industry partners. Under her leadership, CvilleBioHub has expanded its programming, strengthened institutional partnerships, and advanced its mission to support high-potential life sciences companies on a path to commercialization.

“This organization is growing in scope and influence and Nikki is shaping its future,...

RICHMOND, Va., March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. (VIPC) today announced that the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) reported Virginia attracted $2.9 billion in venture capital investment in 2025, marking an all-time high for the Commonwealth according to the 2025 Q4 Pitchbook-NVCA Venture Monitor Report.1

This record level of investment reflects the continued growth and momentum of Virginia's startup ecosystem, with strong activity across key strategic sectors including national security and defense tech, cyber, AI, advanced air mobility, energy, and life sciences.

The milestone also coincides with Virgina being ranked in 2025 – for the first time ever – as a Top 10 State for "Technology & Innovation" by CNBC in its annual America's Top State for Business national rankings.2

"VIPC's mission is to grow Virginia innovation ecosystems that connect talent, capital...

Prolight Diagnostics, a leader in point-of-care (POC) technology, today announces positive results from a collaboration with BRAINBox Solutions, a leader in multi-modality diagnostic and prognostic tests for traumatic brain injury (TBI). The analytic evaluation shows strong performance across a unique combination of three traumatic brain injury biomarkers, demonstrating the ease with which multiple novel markers can be transferred onto the Psyros unique

single-molecule-counting platform and reinforcing its potential to improve patient care for broad clinical use. 

The findings align with earlier pre‑clinical data demonstrating Psyros’ ability to deliver laboratory‑grade performance, detecting biomarkers at extremely low concentrations within minutes using only a small sample. The study was fully funded by BRAINBox, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

ROCKVILLE, Maryland & EDMONTON, Alberta & SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, California--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH), a biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering therapies to people living with autoimmune diseases with high unmet medical needs, announced today it has entered into a definitive merger agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) to acquire Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: KZR), a biotechnology company focusing on small-molecule therapeutics to treat unmet needs in autoimmunity and cancer, for $6.955 in cash per share of Kezar common stock, plus one non-transferable contingent value right (“CVR”), which represents the right to receive: (i) potential payments relating to the ongoing clinical development or disposition of zetomipzomib; (ii) certain proceeds relating to Kezar’s collaboration with Everest Medicines and Kezar’s sale of its Sec61‑based discovery and development program to Enodia Therapeutics; and (iii) 100% of Kezar’s closing net cash in excess of $50 million, net of certain post-closing CVR-related expenses.

Following a strategic review process conducted by the Kezar board of directors with the assistance of Kezar’s management and external legal and financial advisors, the Kezar board of directors has unanimously: (i) determined that the acquisition by Aurinia is in the best interests of Kezar and its stockholders; and (ii) approved the execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby.

SILVER SPRING, Md. & RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR), a public benefit corporation, today announced that its TETON-1 study evaluating the use of nebulized Tyvaso for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) met its primary efficacy endpoint, demonstrating superiority over placebo for the change in absolute forced vital capacity (FVC) by 130.1 mL (Hodges-Lehmann [H-L] estimate, 95% confidence interval [CI], 82.2 to 178.1 mL; p <0.0001) from baseline to week 52.

Nebulized Tyvaso achieved statistical significance for reducing the risk of clinical worsening and showed numerical improvement in other important secondary endpoints relative to placebo, including time to first acute exacerbation of IPF and changes in percent predicted FVC, King’s Brief Interstitial Lung Disease quality of life questionnaire (K-BILD) score, and diffusion capacity of lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO).

Benefits of nebulized Tyvaso were observed across all subgroups, such as use of background therapy (nintedanib, pirfenidone, or no background therapy), smoking status, and supplemental oxygen use. Treatment with nebulized Tyvaso was well-tolerated, and the safety profile was consistent with previous Tyvaso studies and known prostacyclin-related adverse events. No new safety signals were observed.

The Quantum BioTechnology Conference (QBT26) aims to highlight the current state of the art in quantum sensing, quantum reporters, quantum control, and quantum analysis of complex, large scale biological data and to identify opportunities in technology development.

To bridge the gap from innovation to impact, the conference will determine the needs of the biomedical community for improved sensing, reporting, control, and analysis capabilities. Our goal is to identify the most pressing needs in national workforce development in quantum information science and engineering, a field identified as critical to U.S. technological leadership.

Georgetown University’s annual Research & Innovation Showcase will convene 500+ leaders from industry, academia, federal agencies, startups, and investment firms for a full day focused on research translation and real-world impact.

As part of the program, Georgetown is hosting a curated Reverse Pitch session, inviting companies, investors, and funders to share their current areas of focus, unmet needs, and partnership priorities directly with Georgetown faculty and emerging ventures.

If your organization is interested in participating — or in serving as a sponsor of this high-visibility regional event — reach out and register below.

Learn more: https://otc.georgetown.edu/newsevents/showcase/ 

Contact: techlicensing@georgetown.edu

AURP Brings Industry Leaders to Manassas for Immersive Innovation Experience

The Association of University Research Parks (AURP) will host its Insights Into Research Parks program in Manassas, Virginia, on April 22–23, 2026, offering a hands-on look at the innovation ecosystem anchored by George Mason University.

This two-day experience is designed for thought leaders, economic developers, research park professionals, and university and industry partners seeking practical insight into how research-driven communities grow and succeed. Attendees will explore the infrastructure, partnerships, and culture that support research, commercialization, and regional economic development.

Participants will gain direct exposure to the Innovation District surrounding George Mason University’s Science...

By Sara Gilgore – Staff Reporter, Washington Business Journal

Mar 24, 2026

D.C.’s Children’s National Hospital has long considered replacing its flagship hospital building on Michigan Avenue NW — and now appears to be moving forward in that effort.

The pediatric health system is exploring potential sites for a new acute-care facility and is working with the District to evaluate its options, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development has taken Children’s to tour some prospective sites, according to the source.

The RFK campus, future home to the Washington Commanders stadium, was among them. That 174-acre campus is slated for a broader mixed-use redevelopment once the stadium is built.
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GAITHERSBURG, Md., March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 20/20 BioLabs, Inc. (“20/20”), 20/20 BioLabs (Nasdaq: AIDX), an early market entrant in cutting-edge, AI powered laboratory-based blood tests for the early detection and prevention of cancers and chronic diseases, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive U.S. technology license and access agreement with ROKIT Healthcare Inc. (“ROKIT”), a global innovator in chronic disease prediction and regenerative health technologies. Under the agreement, 20/20 will integrate ROKIT’s proprietary chronic kidney disease (CKD) prediction algorithm into the 20/20 Longevity Platform, expanding its suite of biomarker-based disease-risk assessment tools.

Under the agreement, ROKIT agreed to reimburse 20/20 for one-third of mutually agreed sales and marketing expenses in exchange for a running royalty to ROKIT on net sales of the combined product. The companies also anticipate negotiating a separate agreement under which ROKIT may receive exclusive rights to commercialize 20/20’s longevity platform in Korea and potentially other East Asian markets.

GAITHERSBURG, Md., March 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) today announced it has secured a contract award valued at approximately $54 million USD to deliver CNJ-016® [Vaccinia Immune Globulin Intravenous (Human)] (VIGIV) to the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), for smallpox preparedness. ASPR exercised an option from its existing 10-year contract (75A50119C00037) for additional doses of VIGIV, a treatment for complications due to smallpox vaccination.

In addition, Emergent has secured new incremental orders with an international government partner valued at $6.6 million USD. This represents product orders for ACAM2000® (Smallpox (Vaccinia) Vaccine, Live) within Emergent’s medical countermeasures portfolio and will support the partner’s smallpox biodefense strategy. These orders stem from a recurring international customer and demonstrate the importance of threat preparedness around the world.