News from the life sciences and technology sectors north of Boston |
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Yesterday, Waltham-based Vecna Robotics announced it has brought on robotics expert and autonomous vehicle industry pioneer Karl Iagnemma as CEO. Iagnemma co-founded and served as CEO of autonomous vehicle technology company nuTonomy, which was later acquired by Aptiv. He was also founding CEO of Motional, a $4B robotaxi joint venture between automaker Hyundai Motor Group and Tier 1 supplier Aptiv.
Vecna also said it closed $14.5MM in additional funding from existing investors, earmarked to accelerate technology and product enhancements to address the automation needs of operators in automotive, general manufacturing, and high-volume warehousing.
Read more as reported by TechCrunch. |
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Nanoramic Laboratories, an industry-leading energy-storage innovator spun out of MIT, is the latest battery science company to join the Woburn cleantech cluster. In an expansion from its 24,000 SF space in Wakefield, Nanoramic now occupies 40,000 SF at 10 Commerce Way.
Nanoramic’s proprietary Neocarbonix electrode technology enables battery makers to transition toward environmentally friendly manufacturing and green batteries, placing them at the forefront of energy transition sustainability. Neocarbonix accomplishes this by providing sustainable alternatives to some of the most limiting materials in conventional lithium-ion batteries and battery production: NMP solvent and PFAS “forever chemicals.” |
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Daqus Energy comes to 3 Gill Street in Woburn this month. The company aims to commercialize organic batteries using transition metal-free cathodes sourced entirely from earth-abundant elements.
Eliminating the use of critical metals in Li-ion batteries is crucial to reducing costs and enabling broader adoption worldwide, both in developed and developing countries.
Harish Banda, Ph.D., is CEO and co-founder of Daqus. |
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Lithium battery manufacturer SES AI Corporation (35 Cabot Road, Woburn) has promoted Kang Xu, Ph.D. to chief technology officer.
Dr. Xu, a seasoned expert in battery electrolyte development with nearly 30 years of experience, joined SES AI as chief scientist in August 2023. Previously, he worked at the Army Research Lab, where he also served as a distinguished Army Research Lab Fellow. Dr. Xu now leads SES AI’s AI initiatives, managing a team of world-class computational chemists, AI/ML scientists, data scientists, and battery scientists to create tangible results applying its proprietary AI machine to real-life and commercial problem solving. |
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Myrobalan Therapeutics (200 Boston Avenue, Medford) recently announced Robin Kleiman, Ph.D. as chief scientific officer. Robin previously led CNS biology at Alkermes, where she strengthened preclinical support for a range of CNS indications. She also founded the Translational Cellular Sciences group at Biogen and contributed to the development of Boston Children’s Hospital Translational Neuroscience Center. Through her career, she has advanced multiple clinical candidates for novel CNS targets.
At Myrobalan, Robin will work to advance its programs in neuroinflammation and remyelination and ultimately develop transformative treatments for CNS disorder. |
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Congratulations to Sean Albert on his promotion to CEO of Goddard Technologies (100 Cummings Center, Beverly). Andrew Goddard is now chair of the board.
Goddard is an engineering, industrial design, and low-volume manufacturing company that specializes in the development of medical devices, industrial automation and robotics, and consumer products. |
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As part of BARDA's efforts to expand the U.S. government’s arsenal of flexible and adaptable therapeutic platforms to ensure more effective preparedness for viral outbreaks, it has awarded contracts to multiple industry and academic partners through the Flexible and Strategic Therapeutics (FASTx) Program.
Tiba Biotech (78 Olympia Avenue, Woburn) was awarded $749,999 to advance the development of its lung-targeted nucleic acid RNABL delivery platform. This platform uses biodegradable nanoparticle carrier technology to deliver an antiviral treatment utilizing small interfering RNA (siRNA). The siRNA design and delivery will be optimized to suppress viral replication. The project aims to evaluate the specificity and efficiency of delivering functional siRNA payloads to the lungs. Karl Ruping is Tiba's CEO. |
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Leveragen, a biotech company specializing in genetic engineering, recently welcomed a team from Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI) to its new facility at 3 Gill Street in Woburn. Founded in 2017 by Weishing Chen, Ph.D., the company began as a one-person startup based at MBI. Thanks to the many resources at MBI, Leveragen has grown to independent space, and is currently focused on engineering next-generation genetic models to enable the discovery of diverse biologic modalities, facilitating the development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics. |
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In photo (left to right): Jon Weaver, president and CEO of MBI; Weishing Chen, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Leveragen; Samantha Meske, assistant to the CEO of Leveragen; Karri Freeland, senior operations manager at MBI; and Zu Shen, vice president at MBI. |
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Seromyx Systems CEO Piers Whitehead (right) and vice president of research Lenny Moise recently participated in World Vaccine Congress Europe in Barcelona.
Based at 299 Washington Street in Woburn, SeromYx helps clients develop better vaccines in all stages of discovery and development. Its Systems Serology platform incorporates 12 high-throughput assays and machine learning computational analysis for insight into immune function. |
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MarvelBiome (8 Cabot Road, Woburn) recently announced that its co-founder and Professor Gary Ruvkun, Ph.D., board member, Professor Gary Ruvkun, Ph.D., has been named a recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his role in the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.
The company said, "At MarvelBiome, we are incredibly proud to have Professor Ruvkun as part of our leadership team. His visionary approach, unparalleled expertise, and commitment to excellence continue to inspire us all as we push the boundaries of microbiome research and therapeutic development." |
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digiM, a technology provider that supports drug product development with end-to-end microstructure CRO and software solutions, announced it has received an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract from the U.S. FDA for the regulatory assessment and guideline development for complex drug products. Read more in a company press release. |
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Tomorrow, MassBio hosts the 2024 Patient Advocacy Summit. The event showcases the work that patient advocates do every day to ensure that patients are front and center in the drug development cycle and beyond: foster countless relationships with patient families, become experts in a variety of topics, and work to learn the ever-changing policy landscape. The unifying theme of this year’s Summit is storytelling—from a parent-led advocacy group and the halls of Congress to a pharma company and women of color.
Friday, November 15, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM, MassBioHub, Cambridge. Register. |
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Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute's Education and Workforce Development Conference is an annual event that brings together a passionate network of thought leaders whose work focuses on expanding access to STEM careers for all. The Conference presents training providers, employers, and the broader STEM community with an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to students who are on alternative education paths toward STEM careers and to challenge biases and create pathways to inclusivity.
The program will feature a keynote by Lauren Jones, Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development. Thursday, November 21, 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Cruiseport Gloucester, 6 Rowe Square. Learn more and register. |
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Join MassMEDIC for the Women in Medtech Forum. With a theme of "Driving Healthcare Forward: Lessons in Leadership and Innovation," the forum will discuss the evolution of connected care, what it means for the medical device industry, and what considerations still need to be addressed to make healthcare in the home a reality. Wednesday, December 4, 2024, 1:00 - 4:00 PM. Register. |
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North Shore Technology Council hosts its Holiday Mixer on Thursday, December 5 at Ipswich Ale Brewery, Ipswich. Please join NSTC for this festive annual gathering! $25/members, $35/non-members. Register. |
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Incubator Lab Coming January 2025 - 1,970 SF |
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48 Dunham Ridge, Beverly
Suite 5650 |
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Lab features include:
• Chemical fume hood(s)
• Make-up air and dedicated exhaust
• Lab sink(s) with point-of-use acid neutralization tank
• Ample benchwork
• Eyewash station
• Vinyl-faced ceiling tiles
• Epoxy-painted walls |
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Cummings' Emerging Tech Center at 48 Dunham Ridge features a shared kitchen and conference room. |
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Do you know someone who might be interested in this space? Call or text Jake Heger at 781-983-4894 or email jqh@cummings.com. |
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A sampling of the dozens of life sciences neighbors in Beverly: |
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We welcome your feedback on this newsletter and invite readers to share company news, personnel changes, product launches, funding updates, events, and more. Contact Sue Howland, client engagement manager, at svh@cummings.com to offer your news for upcoming newsletters. We look forward to hearing from you. |
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