Velocity Bioworks completes NMR feasibility test with LarmorBio

Valion Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: VBIO) said that Velocity Bioworks, its wholly owned contract development and manufacturing subsidiary, has completed an initial feasibility evaluation of the BioScan-NMR platform from LarmorBio, Inc. The companies announced the result on October 15, 2026, from San Antonio, Texas and Waltham, Massachusetts. Valion said the milestone came less than six months after it secured exclusive rights to LarmorBio's next-generation NMR technology. The companies said the data support continued development of a real-time, continuous monitoring tool for biologics manufacturing. The release was filed as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K.

What the evaluation showed

The evaluation captured a strong correlation between the signal measured by the BioScan-NMR platform and optical density at 600 nm, or OD600, a widely used biological measurement for estimating cell density in liquid cultures. Valion said the result is an encouraging early signal that the platform may capture information associated with microbial growth.

Dean Zikria, Valion's interim chief executive officer, called the work an early step. He said: "While this project remains an early-stage proof-of-concept, the initial results are encouraging." The release says the feasibility evaluation demonstrated that NMR measurements have the potential to track microbial growth during a fermentation process.

The release also describes the problem the platform is meant to address. Microbial fermentation is commonly monitored using indirect indicators of metabolic activity, including glucose, pH, and dissolved oxygen. The release says those measurements provide important information about process conditions and cellular growth, but they do not necessarily give a direct view of cell health or other underlying biological changes.

The platform and the CDMO

BioScan-NMR is being developed to create a new class of process analytical technology, or PAT, for biologics manufacturing. According to the release, the aim is real-time, continuous monitoring with the potential to detect deviations earlier, reduce the risk of batch failures, lower manufacturing costs and enable more consistent and efficient production.

LarmorBio describes itself as a life sciences and clinical diagnostics company developing a next-generation microscale nuclear magnetic resonance system for rapid, label-free phenotyping of live cells and micro-sized biological samples. It says the technology can deliver molecular-level diagnostic information from small sample volumes in minutes, without the cryogenics, dedicated infrastructure or specialized personnel that conventional NMR instruments require.

Velocity Bioworks provides development and manufacturing services to Valion to support its internal pipeline. Valion says the objective is to increase manufacturing control, reduce costs, accelerate development timelines and strengthen domestic supply-chain security. Valion's lead candidate is Entolimod, a Toll-like Receptor 5 agonist being developed as a potential medical countermeasure for Acute Radiation Syndrome. The product candidate has received Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations from the FDA and has been evaluated in animal models under the FDA's Animal Rule. Valion is also advancing Entolasta, a next-generation TLR5 agonist for broader uses, including oncology supportive care.

Financial position

The company's SEC financial data show the following. Valion Bio reported revenue of $780,000 for 2024. Its net loss was $8.9 million for 2025, against $5.7 million for 2024. Cash used in operations was $7.0 million for 2025, compared with $5.7 million for 2024. Research and development expense was $3.1 million for 2025, compared with $1.3 million for 2024. Cash and cash equivalents were $2.0 million at the end of 2024. At June 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $2.1 million, according to the quarterly report.

The release does not state a cash runway or say how long current cash will fund operations.

The risks ahead

The work is an early-stage proof-of-concept, and the release gives no correlation figure, number of runs or comparison with the monitoring methods now in use, only the word "strong". It gives no date for the next steps. Valion still has to test the closed-system and continuous monitoring capabilities before the system is fully implemented at Velocity Bioworks. Cash and cash equivalents were $2.1 million at June 30, 2026, against cash used in operations of $7.0 million for 2025, and the release states no runway. The company also reported a net loss of $8.9 million for 2025. Its lead candidate, Entolimod, has been evaluated only in animal models under the FDA's Animal Rule.

Report an error

Companies in this story

VBIOValion Bio, Inc.NASDAQ · United StatesOpen the starter desk