Brian Buntz

Vacaville, Calif. is home to a burgeoning biotech hub. And there’s more to Vacaville’s biomanufacturing industry than Genentech’s presence there. “Genentech is just one of the biotech companies to open in Vacaville,” said Don Burrus, the city’s director of economic development services. “We’ve had biomanufacturers here for almost 30 years.” Genentech set up shop in…

Takeda Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:TAK) has announced that it is investing $126 million to expand a production facility in Thousand Oaks, one of the largest cities in Ventura County, California. The money will support constructing a new 15,000-ft2 manufacturing facility and renovating an existing 14,000–ft2 plant. The mayor of the city, Claudia Bill-de la Peña, joined Takeda officials…

The possibility that SARS-CoV-2 resulted from a laboratory accident has gained a degree of plausibility among several world leaders. But China has rejected calls for further investigation into the matter, saying such allegations disregard “common sense,” as Zeng Yixin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC), said at a press briefing. White House press secretary…

HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) has announced that it is launching an underwritten initial public offering of 7,000,000 shares of common stock. Initially valued at $8.00 per share, the IPO would generate approximately $56.0 million. That sum does not include underwriting discounts, commissions and other offering expenses. The Miramar, Fla.–based preclinical-stage company specializes in immunotherapies that…

The Pfäffikon, Switzerland–based mechatronics and robotics company has named Olivier Cremoux to be the deputy head of pharma and medical device for Stäubli Robotics North America. Cremoux has worked in various Stäubli divisions since 2015 and has served as an international business development manager. In 2018, he began a stint as a North American business…

Israel is following a similar path to the U.K. in its plans to administer a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine to a subset of patients.  U.K. officials recently announced their initiative to provide a booster to high-risk patients, but those plans are preliminary.  Both Israel and U.K. have concluded that fully vaccinated individuals are unlikely…

Agenus (Lexington, Mass.) has purchased 120 acres in the California Biomanufacturing Center located in Vacaville near Sacramento. Agenus specializes in immuno-oncology products, which span checkpoint antibodies, cell therapies, vaccines and adjuvants. Agenus purchased the parcels from A.G. Spanos, a housing developer. Vacaville is aiming to spur the growth of its biotech industry. Currently, the largest…

An analysis published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases found a 56% reduced risk of mortality for COVID-19 patients taking the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin compared to standard of care or another therapy. The study pulled data from 24 randomized trials involving 3,328 patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. The study also found that ivermectin was “associated…

President Biden has instructed FDA to develop a plan to import prescription drugs from Canada while asking federal officials to create a “comprehensive plan” to cut drug prices within 45 days. Biden has also recommended that FTC block “pay for delay” agreements from pharma companies paying generic drug makers to hold off on introducing competitive…

With new cases of COVID-19 increasing 14% in the past two weeks, President Biden is aiming to convince unvaccinated Americans to get their first dose of the vaccine. CDC data show that the highly transmissible Delta variant now dominates the U.S., driving close to 52% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. from June 19 to…