Business

The Johns Hopkins University professor behind several Baltimore companies that have sold for hundreds of millions of dollars is launching a new venture to treat cancer, but this one is based outside the city. Hopkins cancer geneticist Bert Vogelstein’s new firm, Clasp Therapeutics, launched Wednesday morning with $150 million in financing led by Catalio Capital Management, Third Rock Ventures and Novo Holdings, with participation from other health-focused investors such as the investment arm of Baltimore’s BlackBird Labs.

A hotel near Camden Yards will combine beer, brats and baseball in a new pop-up concept opening for the upcoming baseball season. The Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor at 401 W. Pratt St. will debut Boot & Brats Biergarten on March 28, which is also Opening Day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The city-owned hotel’s outside beer garden aims to draw out-of-town guests and locals.

As Major League Baseball’s opening day approaches, so, too, does the official transfer in Orioles ownership. The Angelos family — longtime owners of the Orioles — agreed earlier this year to sell the club and its assets, valued at $1.725 billion, to a group led by Baltimore native and billionaire David Rubenstein. The sale of a controlling stake has received preliminary approval from a committee of MLB owners, but is awaiting formal approval from a full vote of owners.

Here’s your chance to own one of Baltimore’s favorite liquor stores: The Wine Source in Hampden is up for sale. The cavernous, 9,640-square-foot shop carries a wide selection of alcohol and other beverages as well as nonalcoholic products like artisanal bread and cheeses. The firm brokering the sale hopes it will stay that way.

After being designated a national tech hub last fall, the Baltimore region is moving on to compete for $70 million in federal funding that would help establish a framework to create tens of thousands of jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. The region, which includes Baltimore and seven surrounding counties, was selected in October as one of 31 cities or regions for the federal Tech Hubs Program, putting the area in line for a share of $10 billion in federal funding over five years.

The prospect of selling 40,000 lobster rolls this year is keeping Dan Beck’s Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls up and running at Harborplace this year. That, and no rent. The seafood restaurant is among the few vendors still open at the iconic Inner Harbor development despite a high vacancy rate and dead-mall image. Their dedication is paying off: Beck says they have paid no rent so far this year and lease negotiations have been stalled since January. He’s unsure why, but is grateful to keep moving froward.

Drink aisles at Giant supermarkets across the state will have more options from Greater Baltimore after one Towson company completes a major expansion. ZenJoy, a drink company based at the StarTUp at the Armory accelerator, is launching a partnership with Giant in April. The deal will put its product in 145 stores in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. ZenJoy’s young trio of founders already sell their products in 385 convenience stores, restaurants, and other small retailers, but believe this deal can offer a template for expanding into supermarkets.

DCS Corporation Friday announced it has moved its headquarters to southern Maryland to accommodate the growing support to its customers at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The company relocated to 45310 Abell House Lane, Suite 250, in California in St. Mary’s County. From this location, DCS supports its NAVAIR customers providing engineering support. DCS supports NAVAIR’s Air Vehicle Test and Evaluation (AVT&E) Division.