TEDCO Invests in HBVtech

Maryland-based biopharma company receives funding to support research and development of potential treatment

COLUMBIA, Md. (November 9, 2023) – TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent Rural Business Innovation Initiative (RBII) Pre-Seed Fund investment of $25,000 into HBVtech, a biopharma company based in Maryland.

“Chronic hepatitis B is a viral infection that affects the liver, impacting approximately 292 million people across the world. That’s a large number of individuals who could benefit from an innovative solution, and that’s what we’re hoping to give them,” said Yong-Yuan Zhang, founder and chief science officer of HBVtech. “Thanks to TEDCO’s investment, we can continue working towards developing a new, more efficient treatment for the infection that will, hopefully, limit liver disease complications caused by this virus.”

HBVtech, based in Frederick, Md., is a biopharma startup focusing on developing a novel hepatitis B virus (HBV) treatment method that consists of a single injection. This single injection would greatly simplify hepatitis B treatment and benefit patients across the world suffering from chronic HBV infection.

“HBVtech is working to fill a gap in healthcare that could benefit a large number of people,” said Justin Ferguson, program manager with TEDCO’s Entrepreneur & Ecosystem Empowerment (E3) team. “They are an example of why the RBII program exists—to support companies in rural Maryland who are working to bring about change with their innovations.”

TEDCO’s RBII was designed to enhance technology commercialization and provide technical and business assistance to small and early-stage companies based in rural Maryland. For more information about this initiative, please visit https://www.tedcomd.com/resources/rural-business-innovation-initiative.