Business

Medifast Inc. has agreed to buy back $100 million worth of its own stock, nearly twice the amount of stock it repurchased in all of 2021. The Baltimore-based dieting and wellness company announced on Wednesday that it had entered into an agreement with JPMorgan Chase to repurchase $100 million worth of stock, which equates to about 600,000 shares based on the May 31 closing price of $166.75. That represents about 5% of the company’s fully diluted outstanding stock, Medifast said in a release.

Sheppard Pratt, the Towson-based behavioral health provider, said it is opening a new center to provide care for hard-to-treat illnesses that will include use of psilocybin, a psychedelic medication. Psilocybin will be used in research at a center within Sheppard Pratt’s new Institute for Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics, which will bring together a range of clinicians and treatments. Sometimes called magic mushrooms, psilocybin has shown to be effective in clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression and other mood disorders, though it remains illegal at the federal level, where it’s listed as a schedule 1 drug under the U.S. Controlled Substance Act.

Baltimore Medical System, a nonprofit providing medical care to underserved communities, has received two grants totaling $350,000 to support a new community health center at Yard 56 in Greektown. The facility, set to open in early 2023, will feature 54 patient care rooms and provide health care to 20,000 new patients. The medical system currently serves more than 60,000 patients annually. The France-Merrick Foundation has awarded $250,000 and the Middendorf Foundation has awarded $100,000 for the construction of the 40,000-square-foot center. The center will cost a total of $8.2 million.

Fenwick officials voted last week to approve a full review of the town’s comprehensive plan. Last Friday, the Fenwick Island Town Council voted to support and fund a full review of the town’s comprehensive planning document. While the town’s planning commission began a five-year review process earlier this year, Chair Amy Kyle said commission members have since recommended a full review for recertification. “We started off doing the five-year review,” she said, “and now we’re proposing something a bit bigger than that.”

Baltimore-based MCB Real Estate LLC has partnered with life sciences and health care real estate executive Wilkingson “Will” Germain to co-found MCB Science + Health. Germain, who will serve as CEO of the venture, will be focused on aggressively seeking acquisition and development opportunities in the life sciences, medical office and senior housing spaces across the United States. Germain joins MCB after 16 years with Ventas Inc., a leading real estate investment trust, where he most recently focused on growing their life sciences, research, and innovation portfolio by more than $4 billion and over 7 million square feet.

Calvin Riley had three different careers before he opened a restaurant in Downtown Baltimore. The 49-year-old served in the Marines, boxed professionally and worked in information technology — then decided to go to culinary school when the economy crashed a decade ago.