NCBiotech News

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Ad Astra Diagnostics (AAD), developer of rapid diagnostic systems, has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its QScout™ rapid-result hematology system. The system provides fast, point-of-care white blood cell counts (WBCs), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and differentiates the number and percent of five types of mature WBCs as well as immature granulocytes, according to a recent company announcement.

Millions of Americans are at risk for anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction to medicines, foods, bee stings, insect bites, dust, latex or other substances. And up to 25% of those at risk have not been diagnosed.

People who have an anaphylactic reaction require a fast emergency treatment to reverse potentially life-threatening symptoms such as difficulty breathing, swelling of the throat and tongue, rash, nausea and shock. 

The road to the commercial contraceptive market is a “constant battle,” admits Michael O’Rand, Ph.D. 

For nearly a decade, O’Rand’s company Eppin Pharma Inc. has been traveling the long and expensive path of developing a drug that has the potential to completely transform family planning: a male birth control pill. 

North Carolina’s booming biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry will need at least 8,000 new workers by the end of 2026.

Will the state be able to provide that workforce? And how so?

A recent article, “Bibliometric analysis of global research trends in adeno-associated virus vector for gene therapy (1991-2022),” published earlier this month in Frontier in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, recognized R. Jude Samulski, Ph.D., as the most cited and co-cited expert for AAV gene therapy advancements.

Novozymes and Chr. Hansen this week announced their future name: Novonesis. 

“The name reflects the beginning of an era of biosolutions where Novonesis will unleash the full potential of biological solutions and generate significant value for all stakeholders and society at large. The announcement of the name marks an important milestone towards uniting the two companies,” according to a news release announcing the new name. 

Raleigh-based Helixomer, a pre-clinical, drug-development company created at North Carolina State University, has won a $2 million federal grant to advance a pair of novel drugs to regulate bleeding and clotting in patients.

Morrisville-based NightHawk Biosciences is changing direction – and business strategy.

The company has announced the divestiture of its biodefense subsidiary, Elusys Therapeutics, and other related assets to become a pure play large molecule biomanufacturing contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). That means growing and expanding its new Scorpius Biomanufacturing business.

Oceans across the globe are being overfished at unsustainable levels, giving rise to new approaches to satisfy increasing demand for seafood.

One familiar approach is to produce farm-raised fish. In fact, this practice - known as aquaculture - now produces almost as much seafood globally as wild catch, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNC Pembroke) today announced an inaugural bioprocessing training to help students and residents prepare for entry-level positions in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

After his 30-plus years of work in agricultural technology, one thing is crystal clear to Kevin Helash.

“No matter where I travel in the world, consumers are looking for safe, healthy, affordable food produced with less chemicals,” he said in an interview.

Helash is now well positioned to help meet that demand. He recently became chief executive officer of Biotalys NV, an ag biotech company that is developing safe, effective and environmentally friendly biologicals to protect food crops from pests and diseases.

(Editor Note: This story originally appeared in the NC State News.)

For almost as long as NC State University has existed, sports rivals have teasingly called us Moo U or Cow College, thanks to our strengths in agricultural research and education.

So it’s only right that decades of groundwork at NC State might one day help cattle farmers worldwide better control their livestock’s gut microbiome — a collection of microbes that aid digestion — and cool the climate as a result.

Results from a collaborative project between Tiamat Sciences and BIOMILQ — women-owned biotechnology startups in Research Triangle Park — show the promise of using plant-based proteins to lower the cost of producing food using cultured cells.  

Astellas Pharma Inc. announced that it will acquire Propella Therapeutics, Inc., based in Pittsboro. Propella is a privately held biopharmaceutical company that has leveraged a wholly owned proprietary platform that combines medicinal chemistry with lymphatic targeting to create new oncology drugs.

Through the acquisition of Propella, Astellas will acquire PRL-02 (abiraterone decanoate), an androgen biosynthesis inhibitor being developed by Propella to treat prostate cancer. 

Avior Bio, a small Cary startup developing a treatment for pruritus, or chronic itchy skin, has secured an agreement to license its clinical-stage therapy to a New Jersey pharmaceutical company.

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