English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in Durham, NC

Less than two months after OXB revealed an equity raise of 60 million pounds sterling ($81 million) as part a plan to expand its operations in the U.S., the U.K.-based cell and gene therapy manufacturer has purchased a viral vector plant in North Carolina from National Resilience.

The CDMO, which was formerly known as Oxford Biomedica, will pay 3.4 million pounds ($4.5 million) for the commercial-scale facility, which is located in the Research Triangle Park area in Durham.

The sale also comes four months after struggling Resilience unveiled a plan to consolidate by closing six of its 10 plants. Selling off its Durham site now leaves the streamlined CDMO with facilities in Toronto, Philadelphia and Cincinnati.

In January of this year, Resilience laid off 120 at the North Carolina facility, which it gained for $110 million as part of a 2021 partnership with gene therapy specialist bluebird bio. Bluebird has since sold itself and rebranded as Genetix Biotherapeutics.

The Research Triangle Park facility becomes the fifth in OXB’s network and its second in the U.S. The company’s site in Bedford, Massachusetts, will remain its adeno-associated virus “center of excellence,” OXB said, focusing on early-stage development activities, while the Durham plant will perform clinical and commercial production duties.

“This acquisition is a major milestone in OXB’s evolution as a global, innovation-led CDMO partner of choice,” Frank Mathias, OXB’s CEO, said in a release. “The FDA approved facility in North Carolina adds commercial-scale US manufacturing capabilities, accelerating OXB’s ability to meet growing demand from existing clients while supporting new business opportunities.”

With its location in the Research Triangle Park area, the facility provides “access to established industry networks” and brings a “skilled workforce,” OXB said, adding that it plans to hire additional staff to “bring it to its full commercial readiness.”

The site has two GMP suites for drug substance production, one for fill-finish duties and a fourth that's ready for an expansion, in addition to quality control labs and warehousing. OXB expects the plant to be operational by the first quarter of next year.

The cell and gene therapy pioneer, which was established in 1995 as a spinout from the University of Oxford, also has facilities in Lyon and Strasbourg in France. At its home base in Oxfordshire, England, the company operates out of five buildings spanning more than 180,000 square feet.

Resilience launched with an ambitious mission in November 2020 to broaden access to medicines and protect biopharma supply chains against disruption. The startup was propelled by an $800 million investment and a goal to become the “world's most advanced biopharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem.”

By the end of 2021, Resilience had drawn additional investment rounds of $625 million and $600 million, and, in 2023, the company secured a $410 million loan from the Department of Defense.

“It has become clear that our capacity expansion has outpaced industry demand,” Resilience CEO William Marth wrote in June in announcing the company’s streamlined setup.

RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State football (3-0, 1-0) will look to remain undefeated as the Wolfpack makes the short 22-mile trip to Durham to take on Duke, Saturday, Sept. 20^th at 4 p.m., broadcast on ESPN 2.

Although Duke leads the overall series, which dates back to 1924, the Wolfpack posts a 15-5 mark since 1990. Included in that time span is an 11-game winning streak by the Pack (1994-2008). This will mark just the fifth meeting between the Wolfpack and Blue Devils in Dave Doeren's 12 years as head coach, but the fourth since 2020.

This season marks the first time in 26 years that NC State's first two conference games are on the road. In 1999, the Pack opened league play with games at Florida State and Wake Forest, dropping both contests. The Pack also had two road games to open ACC play in 1978, winning at Wake Forest and then falling at Maryland. You have to go back another decade - to 1968 - to find the previous time the Pack had opened the league with two road games. That year was also the last time NC State. Won two road league games to open conference play, defeating Wake Forest, 10-6, and UNC, 38-6. The Pack went on to win the ACC Championship that season.

NC State has been down at the half in each of its last two games (10 points vs. Virginia and seven vs. Wake Forest). The Pack came back to win both of those contests. It's the first time since 2014 that the Wolfpack won games in back-to-back weeks after being down at the half (17-3 to Georgia Southern and 21-18 to Old Dominion). In the playoff era, only three ACC teams have won back-to-back games after trailing by seven or more points at the break. Miami did it in 2024 vs. Virginia Tech and Cal and BC did it last year vs. Michigan State and Western Kentucky.

The ground game has led the Wolfpack, as Hollywood Smothers not only leads the ACC in rushing but also ranks sixth in the FBS and third in the P4. He has posted career-highs in rushing in three of his last four games. Smothers enters Saturday's game with 951 rushing yards in his brief NC State career. If he were to get close to his league-leading rushing average in the game at Duke would become the Wolfpack's 41st 100-yard career rusher. He currently ranks ninth in NC State history in career rushing yards per game with 67.9.

In terms of passing touchdowns, Bailey is the first Pack player to have at least five passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns through the Wolfpack's first three games of a season since Philip Rivers in 2002. He ranks 12th in ESPN's QBR for the season with an 85.0 mark.

Bailey currently ranks 24th in the FBS with a .708 completion percentage. He boasted a 90 QBR according to ESPN for the win over Virginia - the highest of his career and 10th-best in the nation last week (second highest vs. a P4 defense).

Three games into the season, NC State has turned the ball over just one time. That TO was a CJ Bailey interception late in the second quarter of the season opener, which means the Pack has gone 10 straight quarters with a miscue. That mark (one TO) leads the ACC and is tied for 10th nationally.

On the defensive side of the ball the win over Wake Forest marked the 55th time under Dave Doeren that the Wolfpack has held the opponent to less than 100 yards rushing. It was the second time in three games that the opponent failed to reach 100 yards rushing in 2025. ECU's 30 total rushing yards in the season opener tied as the 14th-lowest for a Pack opponent in the Doeren era. It was the lowest rushing total for an opponent since 2023. Wake Forest rushed for just 59 yards.

When 280-lb. defensive tackle Isaiah Shirley rumbled and stumbled 41 yards to the end zone after picking off a pass in the win at Wake Forest, it marked the first 'thick six' for the Pack since the 2020 season. Shirley was named the ACC's Defensive Lineman of the Week for his performance in the victory.

Coming up at Bennett Place State Historic Site, an evening to reflect on a pivotal chapter in American history—the end of the Civil War and slavery in North Carolina—is the luminary program "The Promise of Peace: Slavery's End in North Carolina." According to a press release from the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the free public event will take place on September 20 from 7-9:30 p.m. Each of the 1,324 luminaries set to adorn the site represents 250 individuals once enslaved in the state, commemorating the 331,059 enslaved souls who bore witness to freedom's dawn with the war’s end.

Historians from across State Historic Sites will give testimonies dedicated to the enslaved people's journeys toward liberty during the program. Originally slated for April but delayed due to weather, the event has been rescheduled, allowing attendees to immerse themselves in the stories while musician Shana Tucker serenades the night with instrumental music. Offering more context, the event highlights how slavery's dissolution took shape, with enslaved persons seeking refuge with U.S. forces or negotiating with their enslavers to avoid separation from their families or forced labor. Although the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln was declared on Sept. 22, 1862, it wasn't until the Confederate surrender at Bennett Place and the military enforcement thereafter that the chains of slavery were truly shattered.

Know also the soil at Bennett Place, where General Sherman and General Johnston came to terms, sent shockwaves through the Confederate ranks, leading to the largest surrender of its time. Now, the reconstructed farmsteads serve as a testament to the lives of common Southern farmers, with the Bennett Place State Historic Site located at 4409 Bennett Memorial Rd., Durham, NC.

Under the purview of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the preservation and celebration of the state's art, history, and natural beauty are paramount. Possessing stewardship over an impressive array of venues, the department’s reach extends to historic sites, museums, parks, and more, including Bennett Place State Historic Site. Each site serves as a guardian of North Carolina's rich legacy, offering residents and visitors alike a chance to borrow wisdom from yesterday, carrying its weighty promise into our collective tomorrow. Donations are encouraged during the luminary event but are not required, with weather updates available on Bennett Place or North Carolina State Historic Sites’ social media and events website.