ACG National Capital
The coronavirus economy has resulted in dramatic changes in the ways that National Capital region companies do business.
And while there is uncertainty about when employees can return to their offices and what the broader economic picture will look like once they’re there, businesses still need to find a way to understand and function while the coronavirus economy—and the ambiguity that comes with it—persists.
In this edition of National Capital Dealbook, we bring you stories of how some companies are identifying potential—and unique—avenues for their businesses that highlight the contours of the coronavirus economy that could help you better understand our new normal.
MAXIMUS Assists State with Contact Tracing
Last week, MAXIMUS, a Reston-based company that helps governments implement public health programs, was tapped by the Indiana State Department of Health to help run its contact tracing program as part of its COVID-19 response.
As MAXIMUS Senior Vice President for Corporate Development—and outgoing ACG National Capital Board of Directors member—Jericho Seguin told us recently, the government health and wellness market is still young and harbors a lot of economic potential.
And while the current epidemic is, in many ways, unprecedented, MAXIMUS was able to use its existing expertise from administering public health programs of all sorts and adapt those competencies to suit the current moment.
Gaithersburg Biotech Company Wins $384 million for COVID-19 Vaccine
Just as business leaders across our region already know, the National Capital area is home to an incredibly diverse ecosystem of businesses that are pushing the technological envelope. The coronavirus economy serves to highlight that fact.
This week, Novavax, a Gaithersburg, MD-based biotech company, won a commitment of up to $384 million to further develop its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, in addition to $4 million that the Norway-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations had invested two months ago.
Novavax, which is slated to begin its candidate’s clinical trials this month, can use the capital to pay for phase two of clinical trials and produce a billion doses of it in 2021, according to the company.
If this National Capital region-born vaccine is ultimately successful, it will be distributed all over the world by the World Health Organization.
Co-Star Group Acquires Commercial Real Estate Assets
D.C.-based real estate data firm CoStar Group announced its acquisition of Ten-X LLC’s information, analytics and online marketplace divisions, which produce a digital platform that helps to liquidate distressed commercial properties.
As the coronavirus economy is poised to reshape the commercial real estate market, with CoStar CEO Andy Florance predicting an uptick in distressed properties coming to market in COVID-19’s wake, acquisitions like this show how businesses are investing now in order to best manage economic conditions to their advantage.
Networking Continues to be Important
Regardless of the business climate, continuing to grow and strengthen your network of fellow professionals continues to be important, both as you search for new best practices and as you seek new business opportunities. In fact, approximately 75 percent of ACG members report that they’ve done business with fellow members.
In light of this, ACG announced its June Member Summit, which will bring together members from across chapters and help drive business development and peer-to-peer engagement that can help drive growth, even amongst the uncertainty of the coronavirus economy.
For more information on the July Member Summit, click HERE.