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Richmond biotech company to buy contraceptive biz for $100M
Aditxt, a biotech company based in Richmond, expects to purchase California-based contraceptive maker Evofem Biosciences for $100 million, taking on the business’s debt of up to $18 million, according to Aditxt’s announcement. Both companies’ boards have unanimously approved the acquisition, which is expected to close in the first half of the year. Evofem produces Phexxi, [&helli[...]
Gov. proposes $90M to launch ‘Va. Research Triangle’
In a preview of his 2024-26 proposed budget, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday that he is including $90 million in one-time funds to create “Virginia’s Research Triangle,” a network between the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech to build collaboration in biotechnology, life sciences and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Youngkin’s bien[...]
U.Va. breaks ground on Manning biotech institute
The University of Virginia began construction Friday on the $350 million Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology. Paul and Diane Manning launched the institute with a $100 million donation in January. Paul Manning founded PBM Products, which became the world’s largest privately owned infant formula and baby food business, and sold it to Perrigo […]
Innovation center could be boost for life sciences
Kipton Currier envisions Virginia joining other mid-Atlantic states to form a super region for the life sciences industry. Before that happens, the state must secure some key ingredients missing from the ecosystem, namely sufficient lab space for biotech startups. Activation Capital, the brand name of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority — which promotes the […]
U.Va. biolab seeks to catalyze region’s growth
Thomas Barker says his seed-stage startup wants to find “modern, modular, functional lab space” to allow the company he co-founded, Vasarya Therapeutics, to be “very efficient and optimal on our research enterprise.” But good lab space is hard to come by in Charlottesville, and what exists is spread around, “so you don’t necessarily get the […]
Activation Capital plans $53M innovation center in Richmond
Activation Capital, a Richmond-based innovation incubator, will redevelop a 102,000-square-foot innovation center in the Bio+Tech Park in downtown Richmond, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer and Activation Capital announced Friday. The 34-acre park, at Eighth and E. Leigh streets, is a commercial life sciences hub adjacent to the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and has more [&hel[...]
Great expectations
In the mid-1990s, Diane and Paul Manning were thinking about moving from New Jersey with their three children. Like many families, they took many factors into consideration. “One of the kids was really big-time into swimming, so we needed a place that had a good swim team,” Diane says. Also, “I always prefer a college […]
Agtech startup to invest $25M in Albemarle expansion
Agricultural biotech startup AgroSpheres will invest $25 million to expand in Albemarle County, creating an estimated 50 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. The company will increase production at its facility at 1180 Seminole Trail and build a research and development and demonstration facility for new products, which will be a pilot plant for a […]
Betting on biotech
Virginians have often sought experimental medical treatments outside the state — traveling to North Carolina, Boston or one of the Mayo Clinic’s locations. However, the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Virginia aims to change that. “We intend to tackle the biggest challenges in health care and to empower our […]
March 2023 Top Five
The top five most-read daily news stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from Jan. 14 to Feb. 13 included Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s controversial decision to prevent a Ford electric battery factory from coming to Southern Virginia over worries about the project’s ties to China. The plant instead will be locating in Michigan, about 100 miles west of […]
$100M donor gift to launch U.Va. biotech institute
The University of Virginia will build a biotechnology institute funded with a $100 million donation from Charlottesville investor Paul Manning and his wife, Diane, the university announced Friday. Along with the Mannings’ gift, U.Va. will contribute $150 million, and the state has allocated $50 million in initial investments for the institute in its 2022-24 budget, […]
Generation next
There’s a new wave of “super collaborators” driving economic development in the Roanoke and New River valleys. Many of the top positions in the region’s public and private sector economic development engines have turned over in the past couple of years. In multiple cases, individuals who had held positions for decades decided to retire or […]
