NCBiotech News

An Asheville specialty pharmaceutical company is working to transform a century-old medical procedure into a treatment for migraine relief that patients can easily perform at home.

Olfax Medical has developed a nasally administered drug delivery technology, potentially allowing patients to treat themselves easily anytime, wherever they are. The company is using its device to create novel therapeutics for a range of central nervous system disorders beyond migraine.

Biopharmaceutical titan Amgen, one of the founding companies of the biotechnology industry, is planning a major expansion of its biomanufacturing site in Holly Springs, N.C., adding $1.018 billion to its initial investment and 370 more high-paying jobs.

Tune Therapeutics, an epigenome-editing company based in Durham and Seattle, will be the first to initiate a human clinical trial for an epigenetic therapy for a common infectious disease. The company has received approval from the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority (Medsafe) to initiate a Phase 1b clinical trial for TUNE-401.

Atlantic Fish, an emerging Raleigh company developing cultivated seafood, has received a $50,000 SEED grant from North Carolina IDEA, a private foundation supporting the state’s entrepreneurial community. 

Durham-based CytexOrtho, a company working to advance orthopedic joint preservation, has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin a first-in-human clinical study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its ReNew Hip Implant cartilage repair technology.

Jellatech, a woman-led innovator in sustainable protein production, has opened a new 9,000-square-foot R&D facility in Morrisville. The company will use the new facility to expand bio-identical collagen production, focusing on validation and helping its customers launch pre-clinical trials.

Earlier this year, entrepreneur and women’s health advocate Sheila Mikhail received the Triangle Business Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the life sciences and women’s breast cancer detection. 

Syngenta Crop Protection, part of the global agricultural giant Syngenta Group, has completed a $140 million expansion of its North American headquarters in Greensboro.

The company dedicated the revamped facilities on Oct. 30 by hosting government and industry guests at its 70-acre campus on Swing Road, near I-40. More than 700 employees work there, earning an average salary of $110,000.

A new temperature-controlled logistics facility planned for Wilmington is designed to speed safe delivery of life sciences products between the United States and Europe. In an announcement Wednesday at Wilmington International Airport, Frontier Scientific Solutions said it would build the global logistics center for time- and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products, along with a companion facility in Ireland.

Gilero, a medical device manufacturer with two sites in North Carolina, is expanding to a third site in the state -- a new 60,500-square-foot manufacturing facility in Greensboro that is expected to create 37 jobs.

The company will invest $6.4 million to outfit a facility it has leased at 486 Gallimore Dairy Road on the west side of the city, near Interstate 40 just south of Piedmont Triad International Airport.

David Reeser is one of the millions of Americans whose life has been changed by the ever-evolving, fast-growing epidemic of addiction. But his journey has taken him on an unusual road from challenge to opportunity.

It started “old school.”

“My father was a cigarette smoker. He smoked constantly,” said Reeser, a Pennsylvania native. “He died of lung cancer when I was 16. Before he passed away my mother started drinking heavily. I watched substance abuse almost ruin my family. Fortunately, Mom’s doing great now.” 

Charles E. Hamner, Jr., Ph.D., a former president and CEO of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and a longtime advocate for life sciences in the state, has received the 2024 High Flyer Champion of Innovation from the First Flight Venture Center.

Hamner received the award at First Flight’s annual High Flyer Awards Luncheon on Friday, Nov. 1, at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary. The annual event brings together entrepreneurs, industry leaders and innovators to honor excellence in the North Carolina ecosystem.

The Triangle is known as a hotbed for innovation, thanks in large part to the partnerships between multiple stakeholders, including universities, investors and ecosystem support organizations.

In that spirit, last month’s Triangle Venture Day set the scene for investors from across the nation to learn about the latest promising innovations, specifically in medical technology.

Research Triangle Park-based Opus Genetics, a clinical-stage gene therapy company devoted to treating inherited retinal diseases, has been acquired by a small ophthalmic biopharmaceutical firm with Durham operations, becoming North Carolina’s newest publicly traded life sciences company.

Jude Samulski calls genome editing “the next wave of technology to feed the world.”