FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2020

CONTACTS

Kristin O’Keefe
VP of Communications & Marketing
kristin@thinkmoco.com
240.641.6703

Ariel Weinberger
CEO
Autonomous Therapeutics, Inc.
info@autonomous.bio
301.681.1230

Expanding life sciences company plans to add 50 STEM jobs by 2023      

Rockville, Md.—Autonomous Therapeutics, Inc. (ATI), a rapidly growing antivirals company, has chosen Montgomery County’s Rockville, Maryland, for its new headquarters. ATI chose to relocate from New York City to take advantage of Rockville’s proximity to leading U.S. researchers, regulators, and funders. Their new 17,700 SF home at 1530 E. Jefferson Street is also in an Opportunity Zone, which offers an advantage for the company in attracting future investment.  

ATI is developing a suite of first-in-class “Therapeutic Interfering Particles” (TIPs) to prevent respiratory pandemics, including influenza and COVID-19. The company’s lead candidates include therapeutics that are designed to prevent infections by any coronavirus strain—from COVID-19 to the next pandemic. ATI has raised millions of dollars in capital from public and private partners to transition its antiviral candidates into first-in-human clinical trials.

The new ATI Rockville headquarters will be home to the manufacturing and R&D studies that will move its therapeutics into clinical trials and eventually the marketplace. Currently the company has 15 employees, with plans to hire more than 50 scientists and engineers within the next three years.  

“Expanding to Montgomery County has been an excellent outcome for our growing company. We needed to get up and running quickly, and Montgomery County could – and did – make that happen,” said Dr. Ariel Weinberger, CEO of Autonomous Therapeutics. “We worked together to identify an ideal lab and manufacturing space from which to source top talent and to accelerate our COVID-19 work in a world-class biotech hub adjacent to leading organizations like NIH, BARDA, and the Department of Defense.” 

“We welcome Autonomous Therapeutics to Montgomery County, the ideal landscape for growth for our biotech companies, which have received over $3 billion of public and private coronavirus funding this year alone,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “With our world-class life science strengths, talent pipeline and quality of life, we look forward to seeing the trajectory of this innovative firm as it embarks on human trials to help fight COVID-19 and save lives.” 

In New York City, Autonomous Therapeutics incubated and maintains a lab at JLABS@NYC, a Johnson & Johnson Innovation network of life science incubators. The company was recently named to the first cohort of “Blue Knight” companies, “for their promising work to fill gaps in the current set of available COVID-19 diagnostic, therapeutic, vaccine and other technology potential solutions.” Blue Knight is a collaboration between J&J and the federal government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

“Being so closely located in Montgomery County to Autonomous Therapeutics’ major federal partners and regulators, such as the Department of Defense, BARDA, and FDA, made their headquarters choice of Rockville a logical decision,” said Benjamin H. Wu, President and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC). “We’re also an epicenter for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) talent. A recent report from the Information Technology Industry Council confirmed that Montgomery County is a national leader with triple the national median of STEM workers, giving the company access to one of the strongest talent pools in the country.”   

As a new company to the County, Autonomous Therapeutics will receive an $80,000 Montgomery County MOVE grant, and is eligible for a City of Rockville MOVE grant. The company is also eligible for Job Creation Tax Credits through the State of Maryland.

In addition to the MOVE grant, MCEDC assisted with site selection and connections to state financial programs. MCEDC also helped with introductions to City of Rockville staff for permitting and the Rockville grant, facilitated contacts for guidance through the application processes and connected the company to high-level talent resources and utility assistance. 

“We appreciate ATI’s choice of the City of Rockville for its new home,” said Cindy Rivarde, CEO of Rockville Economic Development, Inc. “The company worked closely with the City during its build-out, and we are thrilled to assist as they join our high-tech community.” 

ABOUT MCEDC

The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) is the official public-private economic development organization representing Montgomery County, Maryland. Created in 2016, MCEDC is led by a Board of Directors of business executives. Its mission is to help businesses start, grow and relocate in Montgomery County by helping them gain access to top talent, business and market intelligence and prime locations. For more information, visit our website. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

ABOUT AUTONOMOUS THERAPEUTICS

Autonomous Therapeutics, Inc. (ATI) is a rapidly growing antivirals company with offices in Rockville, Maryland and New York City. The company develops first-in-class respiratory antivirals ranging from COVID-19 to influenza. For more information, visit www.autonomous.bio.