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4 n e w h a v e n B I Z | J u n e 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m A r o u n d t h e R e g i o n Alexion, AstraZeneca shareholders approve $39B tie-up Shareholders have given a green light to drug maker AstraZeneca's planned $39 billion acquisition of New Haven-born Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Shareholders from both companies voted to approve the deal in shareholder meetings, keeping the acquisition on track to close by the end of September, the companies said. Under the deal, first announced last December, Alexion shareholders will receive cash and stock valued at around $175 a share. AstraZeneca has said previously Alexion's Boston headquarters would become known as "Alexion, e AstraZeneca Rare Disease Unit," following the deal. Alexion, which was founded in the Elm City by a Yale doctor, also employs around 500 people at its New Haven research and development facility at 100 College St. Last coal plant in CT goes offline Connecticut's last remaining coal-fired power plant has been decommissioned. PSEG Power announced that it retired its Bridgeport Harbor Station Unit 3 plant as of June 1, ending the station's 53-year run. "For PSEG, the retirement of BHS 3 marks the end of our company's coal era, reflecting a nationwide trend toward the use of cleaner fuels to generate the electricity we need to power our lives," said PSEG Chairman, President and CEO Ralph Izzo. PSEG had been working toward closing the plant since 2016, when officials announced plans to invest in natural gas assets at the site. In June 2019, the company debuted Bridgeport Harbor Station Unit 5, a 485-megawatt plant running on natural gas, and set a deadline of shutting down BHS 3 by mid-2021. e move dovetails with a push for a generally cleaner energy mix in Connecticut driven by Gov. Ned Lamont — who has called for 100% carbon-free power by 2040 — and energy suppliers, who are facing new regulations and heightened concerns about the long-term economic toll of fossil fuel-driven climate change. Goodwin finalizes $32M University of Bridgeport acquisition East Hartford-based Goodwin University has completed a $32 million acquisition of most of the University of Bridgeport's real estate and academic programs. e U.S. Department of Education, Connecticut Office of Higher Education and New England Commission of Higher Education all approved the deal, under which UB will function as an independent institution with its own leadership and board of trustees under Goodwin's ownership. e Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and Citizens Bank committed funding to assist in sustaining UB as an independent institution, according to Goodwin. KeyBank and Liberty Bank are providing financing to Goodwin University for the acquisition. Approvals of the deal finalize a plan Goodwin embarked on about a year ago to establish a presence in Bridgeport. PHOTO | UNIVERSITY OF BRIDGEPORT An overhead shot of the University of Bridgeport campus. FDA: Biohaven's migraine treatment can prevent headaches Biohaven Pharmaceuticals recently won Food and Drug Administration approval to market its new migraine pill Nurtec ODT as a preventative, giving the New Haven company the first drug on the market that can both prevent and treat debilitating headaches. Biohaven launched the drug, its first commercial product, in March 2020 aer the FDA approved it that year as an acute migraine treatment, meaning patients take it at the start of a headache to thwart an attack. e latest approval now allows people with "episodic" migraines, or fewer than 15 headaches a month, to take the drug up to 18 times a month. e drug has been shown to help prevent future migraine attacks in patients who take it every other day, according to the company. For those whose condition is not severe enough to warrant ongoing preventative treatment, the pill can still be taken temporarily to ward off attacks during migraine-triggering events, such as air travel. PHOTO | PIXABAY.COM PURA: Electricity rates coming down in July Connecticut energy customers receiving standard service from Eversource Energy or United Illuminating Co. will see their electricity rates come down this summer, according to regulators. On July 1, average standard generation rates — represented in the "supply" portion of a customer's bill — will fall for both utilities, with Eversource customers seeing a 16% reduction and UI ratepayers seeing a 14% decrease. For an average customer, those changes would translate to savings of $9.50 with Eversource and $9 with UI. Overall, as of July 1, Eversource custom- ers' rates will decrease by about 4% and UI customers' rates will decrease by about 6%. Vineyard Wind chooses Bridgeport for offshore wind development HQ Vineyard Wind has selected 350 Fairfield Ave. in Bridgeport for its Connecticut project headquarters, and will also use 525 Seaview Ave. for a construction site, opera- tions and maintenance hub supporting jobs over the anticipated 20-year life span of its offshore wind project. It plans to build the first large-scale offshore wind energy project in the U.S., to be located 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard. e company splits ownership 50 per- cent between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Orange-based Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of Avangrid. Plans are for the headquarters to open in downtown Bridgeport this summer. e Park City Wind project is expected to provide an estimated $890 million in di- rect economic development in Connecticut and support 2,800 full-time jobs. e Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) selected the project in December of 2019 to bring 804 megawatts of clean energy to the state. HPGRUESEN VIA PIXABAY An offshore wind turbine in shallow water. Muscle Maker buys Pokemoto restaurants A New Jersey-based company has acquired the Pokemoto chain, which has several restaurants in the New Haven region. Muscle Maker Inc., parent company of Muscle Maker Grill and SuperFit Foods, bought all of Pokemoto's eateries, which includes 13 locations in four states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Georgia). In Connecticut, it has restaurants in New Haven, Hamden, Fairfield, Norwalk, Stamford and Wallingford. Plans are underway for new locations in Glastonbury, Groton and Manchester. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Pokemoto restaurants are known for their Hawaiian-style poke cuisine. It had $3.65 million in revenue in 2020. Muscle Maker reported its total revenue in 2020 was $4.8 million. Bridgeport actor plans movie studio in New Haven Bridgeport native Michael Jai White, who was the first Black actor to play a comic book superhero, plans to build Connecticut's first "mini-major" studio this summer in New Haven. His studio — called Jaigantic — will feature a slate of productions that span film, television and commercial projects. Plans are for the New Haven facility to house several soundstages, production offices, post-production and support facilities and motion capture stages. e property eyed for the development is in an industrial area off River Street. White, who attended Southern Connecticut State University, played Al Simmons in the 1997 blockbuster "Spawn." He played Jax Briggs in "Mortal Kombat: Legacy," and portrayed boxer Mike Tyson in HBO's 1995 film "Tyson," as listed in IMDB. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Michael Jai White New Haven startup wins FDA clearance for tissue scaffold device A New Haven medtech startup is headed to market with its first device, a so tissue scaffold that can be completely broken down by the body and aims to speed the recovery time for common orthopedic surgeries. Biorez Inc. announced recently that it has won 510 (k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for two sizes of its "resorbable" BioBrace implant. Company officials said the device can be used to reinforce tendon and ligament repairs in a broad range of surgical procedures, including to repair common knee and shoulder injuries like torn ACLs and rotator cuffs. e BioBrace acts as a reinforcement to shore up the so tissue and help with regeneration and healing before the device is naturally broken down by the body, the company said. e company, based in the District B R I E F S PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED IMAGE | CONTRIBUTED

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