Business

Gaithersburg’s Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) plans to begin “facility improvements” at its Baltimore manufacturing plant as Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) assesses demand for its Covid-19 vaccine, which Emergent has been producing at that site. That’s what Emergent President and CEO Bob Kramer told analysts and investors on a fourth-quarter company earnings call Thursday.

A Baltimore restaurateur has scratched plans — for now — for a third-story rooftop bar in one of the most historic blocks of Fells Point after nearby residents pushed back, even going so far as to sue. With those plans off the table, Baltimore’s liquor board has approved the transfer of a liquor license for Prima Dopo, another step forward for the planned Italian restaurant in the 1700 block of Thames Street being developed by Dominic Lascola, who runs two restaurants in Canton.

Medifast, the global health and wellness company based in Owings Mills, has expanded its presence in the state with a new distribution facility in Harford County. The company recently opened a new distribution facility in Havre de Grace where it plans to employ up to 300 people. Located at 2000 Rock Glenn Blvd., the space is open and fully-operational, with the company actively interviewing and recruiting for its new job openings.

A number of high-profile employee benefits administrators were acquired in 2021, significantly changing the industry’s landscape in Maryland for 2022. Confidio, PSA Insurance & Financial Services and Employee One Benefit Solutions LLC were all purchased by out-of-state firms last year, in line with a nationwide trend. The industry saw significantly more mergers and acquisitions in 2021 compared to 2020, according to a report from Otis Partners, a Chicago investment bank specializing in the insurance industry.

The master plan for National Harbor includes houses, hotels, restaurants, an outlet mall and resorts that have largely come to fruition since it opened 14 years ago in the middle of a recession. The Metro station in that blueprint has taken a divergent path. Developers included the station at a time when the transit agency was on stronger footing, hoping a rail connection to the Washington region would boost the fledgling waterfront community. National Harbor has shown it can grow without Metro, but its continued desire for a station will probably be settled during a process beginning in weeks.

The James Beard Awards are back — and three Baltimore chefs and a Chinese restaurant have been named semifinalists. Canton’s NiHao was named in the category of “best new restaurant,” while one of its founders, Peter Chang, was a semifinalist in the Outstanding Chef category for his work at his eponymous restaurants in Maryland and Virginia. A new branch of Peter Chang is set to open in Columbia this fall.

A fast-growing Illinois physical therapy company closed its deal to buy Towson’s Pivot Health Solutions — a physical and occupational therapy chain with more than 250 locations — for an undisclosed sum. Athletico Physical Therapy disclosed it had finalized the deal, first announced in December, to acquire Pivot on Wednesday. The combined company will have nearly 8,000 employees and more than 900 locations across 25 states and Washington, D.C.