A spotlight on a few organizations making a direct impact

Today we are remembering the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. On this day of service we’d like to spotlight a few organizations we support who are making a direct impact during these critical times. They’re all instrumental in supporting frontline healthcare workers, fighting hunger and making a positive difference in their respective communities.

World Central Kitchen is committed to support Los Angeles County frontline healthcare workers and independent restaurants during this critical and unprecedented time. Participating hospitals include Cedars Sinai, Kaiser, Keck Hospital of USC, UCLA and Providence St Johns.
https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/help-feed-the-frontline-fighting-covid-19

Off Their Plate provides economic relief to COVID-impacted restaurant employees by feeding families and individuals facing hunger. Donations directly support restaurant workers, healthcare workers and communities experiencing hunger in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
https://offtheirplate.org

Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County works through a network of hundreds of partner agencies and programs to provide wholesome food and fresh produce to more than 500,000 hungry children, seniors and families in Orange County, California. Programs include Meals for Kids, Groceries for Seniors and Fresh Food for Families.
https://www.feedoc.org

The Feeding America nationwide network of food banks secures and distributes 4.3 billion meals each year through food pantries and meal programs throughout the United States and leads the nation to engage in the fight against hunger.
https://www.feedingamerica.org

The John R. Oishei/Children’s Hospital of Buffalo Foundation supports critical programs, lifesaving technology and care to the community’s most vulnerable. Donations make a direct impact in the lives of the moms, kids and babies in Western New York. As a non-profit, many of the crucial life-saving programs, research, education, state-of-the-art equipment and charity care are only possible through community support.
https://www.kaleidahealth.org/foundations/childrens/donate/

The WaterWheel Foundation chooses non-profits from a large sphere of needs including social services, with a focus on those benefiting women and children, healthcare and food insecurity; social and environmental justice with a focus on clean water and land conservation for public access.
https://phish.com/waterwheel/

A spotlight on Laguna Source working on the fight against COVID-19

In the midst of 2020, it’s all hands on deck within the Biotechnology, BioPharma and Pharma industries in the fight against COVID-19. Industry companies, governments and international organizations are racing fast and working together in efforts to develop and manufacture vaccines, therapies and testing capabilities. 

As of today, 161 vaccines are in development and 10 are now in clinical testing. In efforts to successfully vaccinate every person around the world, multiple vaccine platforms, technologies and manufacturing processes are necessary, including DNA-Based vaccines, Inactivated Virus Vaccines, Live Attenuated Virus Vaccines and Non-Replicating Viral Vector Vaccines. The following vaccine tracker is a fascinating overview of the development process in real time. Check it out by clicking this link:https://milken-institute-covid-19-tracker.webflow.io/#vaccines_intro

Novavax based in Gaithersburg, MD, is a leading innovator of recombinant protein vaccines. Last week, Novavax was awarded $60 million in funding from the US Department of Defense for the manufacturing of NVX-CoV2373, a vaccine candidate engineered from the genetic sequence of SARSCoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease.  http://ir.novavax.com/news-releases/news-release-details/novavax-awarded-department-defense-contract-covid-19-vaccine  

Laguna Source is excited to continue helping Novavax recruit top talent and is currently engaged to work on key positions including…

Alliance Program Manager in Gaithersburg, MD. This is an exciting project leadership opportunity responsible for working closely with US Government organizations and Non-Profit Organizations including BARDA, DOD, CEPI and the Gates Foundation. 

Novavax is also collaborating with fellow Maryland BioPharma company Emergent BioSolutions in an agreement to utilize contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services to support development of Novavax’s novel experimental COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Emergent will produce the COVID-19 experimental vaccine candidate within their local CDMO and CMO facilities.

Laguna Source is also excited to help Emergent BioSolutions recruit top talent for key positions in their Bayview MD manufacturing facility including…

Sr Manager, QC Biochemistry in Baltimore, MD. This is a key opportunity to lead a team of employees responsible for QC Biochemistry laboratories, stability testing, and method transfer of therapeutic bulk drug substance and final drug product. 

Emergent Biosolutions recently announced an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to support the manufacturing of J&J’s lead vaccine candidate for COVID-19 that leverages the AdVac® and PER.C6® technologies from the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. To support Johnson & Johnson’s goal of supplying one billion doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, a long-term commercial manufacturing agreement is under negotiation for large-scale drug substance manufacturing anticipated to begin in 2021.  https://investors.emergentbiosolutions.com/news-releases/news-release-details/emergent-biosolutions-signs-agreement-be-us-manufacturing

We are also working with Emergent Biosolutions on multiple Sr Manufacturing Associate positions for both Upstream Cell Culture and Downstream Purification manufacturing. These are wonderful opportunities for early career professionals to immediately make an impact in the fight against COVID-19. Basic requirements are 1 year of Upstream Cell Culture, Downstream Purification or GMP manufacturing experience.

San Francisco Bay Area Immunology company Vir Biotechnology recently selected South Korea based Samsung Biologics for large-scale production of antibodies to potentially treat Covid-19. Under the terms of the alliance, Samsung Biologics will offer manufacturing services for Vir’s monoclonal antibody (mAb) programme targeting the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

Laguna Source is partnering with Samsung Biologics in Songdo, South Korea and recruiting for Senior level Global Expat positions in Downstream MSAT, Quality Control, Project Management and Business Development. 

In the midst of these trying times, Laguna Source is committed to utilize our resources to help our partner companies meet the demands for development and manufacturing of therapies and vaccines. Please reach out if you’d like to learn more about our targeted recruiting services or positions available helping fight against COVID-19.