MassBio

Back with another #FundingFriday to celebrate the latest rounds raised by Massachusetts #biopharma companies for a reported $620 million! We're happy to toast Abiologics, Cardurion Pharmaceuticals, Epoch Biotech, Scorpion Therapeutics, Third Arc Bio, and Ultivue. Highlights: > Scorpion Therapeutics, a Boston-based pioneering clinical-stage oncology company dedicated to transforming the lives of cancer patients by redefining the frontier of precision oncology, announced the closing of a $150 million Series C financing. https://lnkd.in/eWgecEkp | Adam Friedman, MD, PhD > Cardurion Pharmaceuticals, a Burlington-headquartered clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, announced it has raised a $260 million Series Bhttps://lnkd.in/ed-h3Z-s | Peter Lawrence > Third Arc Bio, a biotech company developing multifunctional antibodies that are optimized for best-in-class T cell engagement across solid tumors and inflammatory & immunology (I&I) disease, just launched with a $165M Series A. https://lnkd.in/eaJ-TAFK | Peter Lebowitz | Sanjaya Singh

When you hear the word cancer, you want the best care possible. Boston is where patients go with hope for healthy tomorrows, so it's no surprise that the American Cancer Society’s AstraZeneca Hope Lodge in Boston is the busiest in the country. This is the home away from home for patients and their caregivers coming here to access the most innovative #oncology therapies at the world’s best hospitals. MassBio loves our annual visit to provide residents with a healthy and hearty meal, play some games, and be a listening ear. Hearing their stories is a reminder of why we’re in the #lifesciences industry and seeing one patient ring the bell reminds us to always be #patientdriven.    Thanks to all the staff and volunteers at The Hope Lodge, who transform this incredible facility into a community that delivers so much more than just a place to sleep and eat. Since opening, they’ve welcomed more than 17,000 guests. They’ve saved families $4.5 million in expenses last year alone. Thanks also to my friend, Ali Levine, for your tireless efforts and for showing Hope Lodge off to our staff last night. Looking forward to this year’s Key Gala on October 18 (https://lnkd.in/eXBw-P-j)! 

Thank you, Congressman Jake Auchincloss, for going to bat for patients and their access to life-saving and life-changing drugs. Grateful for your filing of the Pharmacists Fight Back legislation and for taking #PBMs to task for making some of the sickest patients with the fewest options pay more. Just a day after the committee hearing took place in Washington, Beacon Hill – specifically in the House of Representatives – today is discussing the chamber’s bill that strikes the right balance between reasonable market oversight, especially through the licensing and regulation of pharmacy benefits managers, and enhanced patient access, with a focus on affordability. The state legislation includes several patient-centered priorities including requiring carriers and PBMs to certify annually that at least 80% of manufacturer rebates negotiated to reduce the cost of a drug actually go toward decreasing a patient’s out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter. We look forward to continued engagement both with Congress and the state legislature on these important topics and bills.

BioversityMA, a new workforce training non-profit spun out of MassBio, which trains underrepresented and low-income Boston area residents to pursue early career roles at local life sciences companies, is hosting their inaugural fundraising event July 31, Celebrate Bioversity! https://lnkd.in/eFG-NJtx Join us to:  - Celebrate Bioversity's first six months in operation - Hear from graduates, employers, and champions, including MassBio Board Chair Tamar Thompson Buy a ticket today: https://lnkd.in/eDbpGrRu Bioversity Inc. is a 501c3 public charity. All ticket purchases and donations to Bioversity are fully tax deductible.

In the late summer of 2022, the MassBio leadership team was invited by Beacon Capital Properties to visit their redeveloped life sciences campus in Dorchester, Southline Boston, to talk about the prospect of MassBio opening and running a workforce training center in their building. Fast forward to January 8, 2024, and Bioversity’s doors opened for the first cohort of 18 students. Since then BioversityMA has graduated three cohorts and just started their fourth. They are meeting their mission of intentionally recruiting underrepresented and low-income students from Boston neighborhoods and surrounding communities. In the first class, 78% were Boston residents, 100% identified as either Black or Latino (or both); 56% were female, and the average age was 31. Bioversity is wrapping up six months, with a dramatic start and lots of room for growth. Read more from Executive Director Zach Stanley: https://lnkd.in/e44q2e8m Meet the Bioversity community by joining us on July 31 for their inaugural fundraising event: Celebrate Bioversity! https://lnkd.in/eFG-NJtx

Thank you to all of the organizations hosting events with us at the #MassBioHub! We love supporting our members' off-site meetings, team workshops, Pharma Day®, and more. #HubHappenings Beacon Therapeutics | Browne Consulting | Cellarity | Daiichi Sankyo US | Fulcrum Therapeutics | Myeloid Therapeutics | Ticket to Biotech

The FDA is launching a new Rare Disease Innovation Hub to help them to better understand and more effectively advance therapeutics, medical devices and diagnostic tests for very small patient populations (https://lnkd.in/eEZxW-Qt). This is exciting news for the #raredisease patients waiting for treatments and the #biotechs looking to deliver them. MassBio Board Chair Tamar Thompson, a longtime rare disease champion and Head, Corporate Affairs at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc./AstraZeneca Rare Disease: “We applaud the FDA for this significant step forward in creating a more equitable environment for rare disease patients and their families. This achievement is also a testament to the tireless efforts of patient advocacy organizations, clinical-stage and small biotech companies collaborating with the FDA to advance innovation. At MassBio, we recognize the critical role these companies have played in driving the progress that the Rare Disease Innovation Hub represents.   “There is much more work to be done, and we look forward to serving as a champion for the biotech community, a partner for rare disease patients, and a resource to the FDA.” #patientdriven #FDA #rarediseases #rarediseasecommunity

BioversityMA's inaugural summer fundraising event is July 31: https://lnkd.in/eFG-NJtx   We'll celebrate the launch of Bioversity's workforce training center in Dorchester, the completion of their first three training cohorts, and hear inspiring stories from graduates, employers, and champions.   Thank you to the Gold Sponsors: Blueprint Medicines | Foundation Medicine | Johnson & Johnson   When you sponsor this uplifting event, you aren’t just donating resources toward operations, you're helping to open doors for hundreds of underrepresented and overlooked people by ensuring Bioversity’s sustainable and ambitious future.    Contact Bioversity's Executive Director Zach Stanley for more details.

Did you join us earlier this year at the MassBio State of Possible Conference 2024? If you missed it or want to look back, you can find all of the session recordings on MB Vision - including remarks from Congressman Jake Auchincloss. In his speech, he spoke to Massachusetts’ historic tendency to be a national leader, asserting that the state’s approach to biotechnology should not be any different. He conveyed the need for American leadership in biotechnology innovation, calling on his colleagues in Congress to prioritize biotechnology the same way semiconductor technologies and production were prioritized.   Watch the full recording on #MBVision https://lnkd.in/efgUy8Gc. #StateOfPossible24

We're pretty fond of our newest #MassBioMembers. Can you show them some love on this #WelcomeWednesday? Amplitude Therapeutics is a seed-staged biotechnology company focusing on developing the next generation of RNAs to fully unlock the therapeutic potential of RNA biology. GreenLabs Recycling collects and recycles non-hazardous plastic consumables from labs, recognizing that by keeping recycling local, we can make it effective in terms of cost and environmental sustainability. ImaginAb is a clinical stage, revenue-generating global biotechnology company developing the next generation of imaging agents and radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) products. IOCB Prague - Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences is one of the most successful Czech research institutions, recognized globally. This year, it established its first laboratory in the United States right here in Cambridge. IQVIA is a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry. Jett Foundation empowers people and families impacted by Duchenne muscular dystrophy through the development of transformative programming, educational opportunities, and ongoing support. Seamless Therapeutics is changing the paradigm of gene editing through a pioneering approach to safely and precisely restoring health in patients with severe conditions. seqWell creates scalable genomics technologies that simplify workflows and help enable every life scientist to unlock transformative discoveries with sequencing. Skylark Bio, Cambridge MA Skylark Bio, a gene therapy company, exists to create a world where anyone, anywhere can experience life in all its sensory dimensions. Vindhya Data Science is an innovative data science company specializing in bioinformatics, genomics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, structural biology and the full spectrum of computational biology. Viva Biotech provides one-stop services ranging from early-stage Structure-Based Drug R&D to commercial manufacturing to global biopharmaceutical innovators. We're so excited to have you join the MassBio community!