Business

Gaithersburg’s Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Inc. is laying off a chunk of its workforce to devote more resources to its clinical trials and bank more cash, co-founder and CEO Greg Merril told the Washington Business Journal. The biotech, whose therapy targets drug-resistant bacteria, intends to eliminate 22 positions — 23% of its staff — to bring its headcount to 72.

Pfizer Inc. agreed to purchase cancer-drug maker Seagen Inc. for an enterprise value of $43 billion, gaining the company’s antibody drugs that fight tumors. Pfizer will pay $229 a share in cash for Seagen, according a statement Monday, about a third more than the drugmaker’s closing share price Friday.

While Hunter Douglas representatives say economic conditions played a big factor in their decision to close its Cumberland plant, state Sen. Mike McKay and Del. Jason Buckel said more needs to be done to make Maryland business-friendly for employers. Members of the Western Maryland legislative delegation reacted to the plant closure in interviews with the Times-News on Friday. A maker of blinds and shades, Hunter Douglas announced last week that its Cumberland plant will be closed by summer.

A proposed six-month moratorium on warehouse developments in Harford County could end up driving businesses to locate elsewhere in the region. County officials say the pause would allow for a review of policies that were first set long before an explosion in warehouse developments. On Feb. 1, Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly announced legislation that would impose a temporary six-month moratorium on approvals or permits for warehouse developments. The legislation was introduced on Feb. 14 and a public hearing on the legislation is scheduled for March 14.

The U.S. government took extraordinary steps Sunday to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, assuring all depositors at the failed institution that they could access all their money quickly, even as another major bank was shut down. The announcement came amid fears that the factors that caused the Santa Clara, California-based bank to fail could spread.

The COVID-19 pandemic shrank the restaurant industry, and many still don’t have enough workers as more Marylanders return to dine in person. According to the National Restaurant Association’s new State of the Restaurant Industry report, many restaurant owners are looking to grow their business as conditions get closer to normal, but they face a big challenge.

Kari Snyder really didn’t want to spend $62,000 on this vacant rowhouse. She was on vacation last summer in a beach town and was supposed to be eating dinner with her family when a middleman called her. The boarded-up house in Southeast Baltimore was on the verge of collapsing, and he had the contract to sell it. Snyder couldn’t stomach another investor swooping in, buying the home, and sitting on it.