University of Massachusetts

NanoMosaic launches AAV gene therapy bioprocessing and manufacturing QC assays for simultaneous capsid & transgene interrogation with high standardization

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

The assays are seamlessly deployable across upstream and downstream stages of the gene therapy workflow, while harmonizing the data from bioprocessing to batch release QC.

Key Points: 
  • The assays are seamlessly deployable across upstream and downstream stages of the gene therapy workflow, while harmonizing the data from bioprocessing to batch release QC.
  • "The objectives pursued by NanoMosaic are positive steps forward for a space desperate for a fit-for-purpose tool that can be standardized throughout the entire gene therapy development and manufacturing processes.
  • "NanoMosaic is excited to offer a unique solution to a challenging and fast-growing gene therapy market," said Qimin Quan, PhD, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer.
  • NanoMosaic will feature the platform and unique gene therapy applications in a live broadcast scientific webinar alongside industry leaders on March 26, 2024, hosted by Genetic Engineering News (GEN).

Shawmut Design and Construction Doubles Down on Growth with Addition of Strategic Development Leaders in New England

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 26, 2024

BOSTON, Feb. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Shawmut Design and Construction, a leading $1.6 billion national construction management firm, is pleased to announce the hire of two experienced business development directors to its New England region. Michael Christopher, a former leader at the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), and Caren Jenkins, a longtime client strategist in the pharma/biopharma industry, will bolster Shawmut's strategic growth plan to drive increased market share of projects in the commercial, life sciences/advanced technology, and education sectors.

Key Points: 
  • BOSTON, Feb. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Shawmut Design and Construction, a leading $1.6 billion national construction management firm , is pleased to announce the hire of two experienced business development directors to its New England region.
  • Under his leadership, more than 65 million square feet of new development space was permitted since 2016, with total investment exceeding $36 billion.
  • Jenkins most recently served as client strategist at CRB, a design, engineering, construction, and consulting firm specializing in life sciences.
  • Christopher and Jenkins join Jeff Cammuso, a 17-year industry veteran, as the firm's business development leads in its New England region.

Alys Pharmaceuticals launches with $100M financing from Medicxi to advance Immuno-Dermatology focused pipeline

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 12, 2024

BOSTON and GENEVA, Switzerland, Feb. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Alys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Alys"), an immuno-dermatology focused company, launches today with an R&D pipeline enabled by multiple platform technologies and a $100 million financing by Medicxi.

Key Points: 
  • BOSTON and GENEVA, Switzerland, Feb. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Alys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Alys"), an immuno-dermatology focused company, launches today with an R&D pipeline enabled by multiple platform technologies and a $100 million financing by Medicxi.
  • Originating from the aggregation of six asset-centric Medicxi companies, Alys boasts a robust pipeline of innovative programs and platforms targeting multiple dermatological indications.
  • The pipeline also includes programs focused on underserved indications such as mastocytosis, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma or prevention of skin side effects of oncology therapies.
  • Alys combines the assets and platforms of Aldena Therapeutics, Graegis Pharmaceuticals, Granular Therapeutics, Klirna Biotech, Nira Biosciences and Vimela Therapeutics.

Alys Pharmaceuticals launches with $100M financing from Medicxi to advance Immuno-Dermatology focused pipeline

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 12, 2024

BOSTON and GENEVA, Switzerland, Feb. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Alys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Alys"), an immuno-dermatology focused company, launches today with an R&D pipeline enabled by multiple platform technologies and a $100 million financing by Medicxi.

Key Points: 
  • BOSTON and GENEVA, Switzerland, Feb. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Alys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Alys"), an immuno-dermatology focused company, launches today with an R&D pipeline enabled by multiple platform technologies and a $100 million financing by Medicxi.
  • Originating from the aggregation of six asset-centric Medicxi companies, Alys boasts a robust pipeline of innovative programs and platforms targeting multiple dermatological indications.
  • The pipeline also includes programs focused on underserved indications such as mastocytosis, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma or prevention of skin side effects of oncology therapies.
  • Alys combines the assets and platforms of Aldena Therapeutics, Graegis Pharmaceuticals, Granular Therapeutics, Klirna Biotech, Nira Biosciences and Vimela Therapeutics.

University of Nebraska, Lincoln Takes Top Honors at 22nd Annual Deloitte FanTAXtic National Case Study Competition

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 30, 2024

NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A team of students from University of Nebraska, Lincoln, claimed victory at the Deloitte FanTAXtic national case study competition by presenting the best analysis on a complex, issues-driven business tax case. This year's case challenged teams to provide advice on how to structure a new business entity and help determine whether they should operate the venture as an S corporation or a C corporation. Teams were also asked to share advice on tax issues like how to calculate depreciation, when to recognize income, and how to calculate a specific business income deduction. The national finals were held Jan. 19-21 at Deloitte University, Deloitte's landmark campus for learning and leadership development in Westlake, Texas.

Key Points: 
  • NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A team of students from University of Nebraska, Lincoln, claimed victory at the Deloitte FanTAXtic national case study competition by presenting the best analysis on a complex, issues-driven business tax case.
  • The national finals were held Jan. 19-21 at Deloitte University, Deloitte's landmark campus for learning and leadership development in Westlake, Texas.
  • The other teams that participated were: Florida International University; San Diego State University; University at Albany; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Cincinnati; University of Florida; University of Houston; University of Illinois, Urbana – Champaign; University of Massachusetts; University of Mississippi; University of Southern California; University of Tennessee; and University of Utah.
  • Each of the 16 teams participating in the national competition won the Deloitte FanTAXtic contest in their respective U.S. regions.

Via Scientific Raises $5M in Seed Funding to Accelerate the Pace of Life Sciences Discovery

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 9, 2024

"We live in an incredible time with breathtaking opportunities lying at the intersection of biology, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing," said Jim Crowley, co-founder, and CEO of Via Scientific.

Key Points: 
  • "We live in an incredible time with breathtaking opportunities lying at the intersection of biology, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing," said Jim Crowley, co-founder, and CEO of Via Scientific.
  • This strategy is pivotal in sparking groundbreaking innovations and propelling the pace of scientific discovery to new heights."
  • Mike Troiano, Partner at G20 Ventures said "Via Scientific is a game-changer in the biopharmaceutical landscape.
  • For additional information about Via Scientific and the Foundry platform, please visit www.viascientific.com .

Drugs of the future will be easier and faster to make, thanks to mRNA – after researchers work out a few remaining kinks

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 4, 2024

Until the COVID-19 pandemic, however, vaccine development was still a long and idiosyncratic process.

Key Points: 
  • Until the COVID-19 pandemic, however, vaccine development was still a long and idiosyncratic process.
  • But the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines brought a new approach to vaccine development that has far-reaching implications for how researchers make drugs to treat many other diseases.

Some basics of mRNA drugs

  • An mRNA drug comprises two essential components: mRNA molecules, which code for desired proteins, and the lipid molecules – such as phospholipids and cholesterol – that encapsulate them.
  • From a drug development perspective, mRNA drugs offer significant advantages over traditional drugs because they are easily programmable.
  • More importantly, different mRNA drugs produced by the same set of methods will have similar properties.
  • This predictability significantly reduces the development risks and financial costs of developing mRNA drugs.

Self vs. nonself

  • This may sound paradoxical – after all, your cells already contain large amounts of mRNAs.
  • How does your immune system distinguish between self and nonself mRNAs?
  • Therapeutic mRNAs enter cells using endosomes – sacs made of the cell’s membrane that take in materials from the cell’s environment.
  • The 2023 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded to the scientists who made this breakthrough discovery.
  • RNA viruses also form double-stranded RNA when they replicate, and exposing cells to double-stranded RNA can lead to a strong immune response.
  • Fortuitously, for mRNA vaccines, the residual amount of double-stranded RNA can stimulate the immune system to enhance antibody responses.

Moving beyond vaccines

  • One promising example in development is using mRNA that encodes CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing proteins to knock out genes that cause specific diseases.
  • This disease is an ideal target for mRNA-based CRISPR gene therapy because the target protein is produced by the liver.
  • Notable new developments in these areas include using computational algorithms to optimize mRNA sequences in ways that enhance their stability and engineering RNA polymerases that introduce fewer side products that may cause an immune response.
  • Further advancements have the potential to enable a new generation of safe, durable and effective mRNA therapeutics for applications beyond vaccines.


Li Li receives funding from NIH.

Drugs of the future will be easier and faster to make, thanks to mRNA − after researchers work out a few remaining kinks

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 4, 2024

Until the COVID-19 pandemic, however, vaccine development was still a long and idiosyncratic process.

Key Points: 
  • Until the COVID-19 pandemic, however, vaccine development was still a long and idiosyncratic process.
  • But the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines brought a new approach to vaccine development that has far-reaching implications for how researchers make drugs to treat many other diseases.

Some basics of mRNA drugs

  • An mRNA drug comprises two essential components: mRNA molecules, which code for desired proteins, and the lipid molecules – such as phospholipids and cholesterol – that encapsulate them.
  • From a drug development perspective, mRNA drugs offer significant advantages over traditional drugs because they are easily programmable.
  • More importantly, different mRNA drugs produced by the same set of methods will have similar properties.
  • This predictability significantly reduces the development risks and financial costs of developing mRNA drugs.

Self vs. nonself

  • This may sound paradoxical – after all, your cells already contain large amounts of mRNAs.
  • How does your immune system distinguish between self and nonself mRNAs?
  • Therapeutic mRNAs enter cells using endosomes – sacs made of the cell’s membrane that take in materials from the cell’s environment.
  • The 2023 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded to the scientists who made this breakthrough discovery.
  • RNA viruses also form double-stranded RNA when they replicate, and exposing cells to double-stranded RNA can lead to a strong immune response.
  • Fortuitously, for mRNA vaccines, the residual amount of double-stranded RNA can stimulate the immune system to enhance antibody responses.

Moving beyond vaccines

  • One promising example in development is using mRNA that encodes CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing proteins to knock out genes that cause specific diseases.
  • This disease is an ideal target for mRNA-based CRISPR gene therapy because the target protein is produced by the liver.
  • Notable new developments in these areas include using computational algorithms to optimize mRNA sequences in ways that enhance their stability and engineering RNA polymerases that introduce fewer side products that may cause an immune response.
  • Further advancements have the potential to enable a new generation of safe, durable and effective mRNA therapeutics for applications beyond vaccines.


Li Li receives funding from NIH.

Prominent Former Prosecutor and UMass General Counsel Gerry Leone Joins Hunton Andrews Kurth in Boston

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Boston, Dec. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is pleased to welcome to the firm Gerard T. “Gerry” Leone, Jr., whose distinguished legal career includes serving as general counsel for the University of Massachusetts and as a state and federal prosecutor who secured convictions in some of the most high profile cases in the country.

Key Points: 
  • Boston, Dec. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is pleased to welcome to the firm Gerard T. “Gerry” Leone, Jr., whose distinguished legal career includes serving as general counsel for the University of Massachusetts and as a state and federal prosecutor who secured convictions in some of the most high profile cases in the country.
  • Based in Boston, Leone will officially join the firm as a special counsel in February 2024.
  • Leone served as a senior high level managing and prosecuting Assistant District Attorney and Assistant Attorney General under Reilly during his terms in the 1990s.
  • “I am forever grateful to UMass President Marty Meehan for the opportunity to serve the Commonwealth and the university,” said Leone.

MPR Promotes Brian Curran to Vice President

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, December 19, 2023

MPR Associates, Inc. ( www.mpr.com ), has promoted Brian Curran to Vice President for Power & Energy.

Key Points: 
  • MPR Associates, Inc. ( www.mpr.com ), has promoted Brian Curran to Vice President for Power & Energy.
  • Mr. Curran began his career at MPR in 2009 and effective January 1, 2024, he will assume the role of Vice President leading MPR to support the energy transition through our clients’ investments and improvements in renewable energy and the grid.
  • "Brian’s transition to MPR, following service in the Nuclear Navy, was a natural progression showcasing his skills, background, and mutual fit for MPR with roots in the Naval Reactors Program,” Bob Carritte, MPR Principal Officer said.
  • Mr. Curran is a strong advocate for the MPR culture and the development of people and has continued to expand MPR capabilities in alignment with client needs.