NCBiotech News

Traditional seed breeding methods are slow and expensive. But technology can speed up the process of breeding hardier plants at lower cost, according to Hi Fidelity Genetics, a Durham-based crop breeding company using artificial intelligence to improve seed genetics that recently closed an $8.5 million Series A round of financing.

Morrisville-based Locus Biosciences, a developer of precision antibacterial therapies, has signed an exclusive collaboration and license agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals that could be worth up to $818 million.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals of Durham has begun a Phase 1 clinical trial of an anti-viral drug for treating two serious viral infections, Marburg virus disease and yellow fever.

A potential drug for helping cancer patients withstand the side effects of chemotherapy showed positive results in a recent Phase 2 clinical trial involving small cell lung cancer, according to its developer, G1 Therapeutics of Research Triangle Park.

Grifols, a global biotherapeutics company with major operations in North Carolina, announced today that it will begin production of a plasma-derived treatment to battle the Ebola virus for the country of Liberia at its flagship Clayton manufacturing site.

The three-cornered Research Triangle is also among America’s top-three places to start a business. That’s the conclusion of the newly published winter 2018 edition of Inc. magazine, on newsstands now.

RedHill Biopharma, an Israeli company with U.S. headquarters and commercial operations in Raleigh, has closed on a $20 million public offering to fund the commercial launch of its gastrointestinal drug, Talicia. That will mean new jobs in the Raleigh area.

Criticality, a budding hemp processing company in the small northeastern North Carolina farming town of Hobgood, in Halifax County, is converting a tobacco-buying facility in Wilson to bring the techniques of Good Manufacturing Practice to the state’s newly expanding CBD industry, to minimize or eliminate instances of contamination, mix-ups, and errors.

More than 150 people attending the Digital Health 360 Summit in Durham last month focused on three topics: identifying barriers to healthcare engagement, building healthy communities, and using digital technology to strengthen precision health in North Carolina.

Circassia Pharmaceuticals, a British company with U.S. headquarters in Morrisville, plans to acquire the full U.S. commercial rights to Tudorza, a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from British drug-maker AstraZeneca by the end of this month.

Due to the continuation of inclement weather, the NC Biotechnology Center RTP locatiion is closed for the remainder of the day,  Monday, December 10, 2018. 

Because of winter weather, NCBiotech offices have adjusted hours as follows:

• RTP's office will open at noon on Monday, December 10, 2018.
• Piedmont Triad office is closed Monday and Tuesday, working remotely.

Check back for additional updates.

Facility Logix, a Maryland-based consulting firm that helps bioscience companies with lab and biomanufacturing facilities, has opened a North Carolina office and hired a project manager to run it.

Bristol Myers Squibb is the latest pharmaceutical heavyweight to enter a strategic partnership with Chapel Hill’s TARGET PharmaSolutions to study a major disease.

Loans from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center totaling $1 million will help three bioscience companies develop novel products for better human health.