Author Archives: Ben Hargreaves

Novo Nordisk in $1.8bn deal for oral biologic tech

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Novo Nordisk to acquire Emisphere Technologies and take ownership of Eligen drug delivery technology. The two companies have been partners since 2007, which culminated in the approval of Rybelsus (semaglutide). The glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) treatment for adults with type 2 diabetes became the first such treatment to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for oral delivery last year. Rybelsus was created by Novo Nordisk under a license agreement with Emisphere, using the Eligen SNAC drug delivery…

November 11, 2020

CDMO Minaris invests $64.5m to triple capacity in Europe

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The cell and gene therapy CDMO will build additional facilities at its German and Japanese locations. The contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in cell and gene therapies announced two separate investments of $40.7 million (€34.2 million) into its Ottobrunn, Germany, site, and $23.8 million for its Yokohama, Japan, site. Both regions now come under the umbrella of Minaris Regenerative Medicine, a subsidiary of Showa Denko Materials, after a rebrand in September to unify the name of its three…

November 9, 2020

Blockchain platform offers advanced therapy tracking ‘vein-to-vein’

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Hataali blockchain technology used to secure supply chain in the UK could lead to a ‘standardized infrastructure’ for cell and gene therapy tracking, says ATMPS. ATMPS, a spin out from Farmatrust and the creator of the Hataali platform, tested the blockchain solution alongside the UK’s University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB). UHB is home to the Midlands and Wales Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre, which is comprised of partners from the NHS, academia and industry. The center, one of three…

November 2, 2020

Amyris and IDRI agree RNA vaccine platform deal

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The two partners will collaborate to develop an RNA vaccine against COVID-19, as well as vaccines for three additional indications. Amyris will license the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI)’s novel ribonucleic acid (RNA) vaccine platform. Alongside the vaccine platform, Amyris will gain access to IDRI’s nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) platform, which will be combined with its own semi-synthetic squalene technology to develop RNA vaccines against various infectious disease targets, potentially including influenza and certain cancer treatments. The first project will…

October 29, 2020

Fallen in place: Lonza veteran to lead Touchlight

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Touchlight hires Lonza’s Karen Fallen as CEO of its contract manufacturing organization, Touchlight DNA Services. Fallen joins Touchlight from Lonza, where she began working after the latter company’s acquisition of Celltech in 1996. By the end of her time at Lonza, Fallen held the position of head of mammalian & microbial development & manufacturing, where she was responsible for a workforce of 4,500 individuals, spanning 10 different sites. Fallen’s new organization is Touchlight DNA Services, based in Hampton, UK, which…

October 21, 2020

Vaxart ups production as oral COVID-19 vaccine dosing begins

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Vaxart agrees deal with Kindred Biosciences to expand manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Yesterday, Vaxart announced that the first subject had been dosed in a Phase I study for its oral tablet COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Prior to this, the biotech had agreed with Kindred’s contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) subsidiary, Centaur Biopharmaceutical Services, to increase the scale of production. As a result, Centaur will manufacture clinical trial material for the prospective vaccine out of its Elwood, Kansas, plant at…

October 14, 2020

Ocugen signs deal with Indian CMO to avoid US capacity constraints

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Ocugen has signed a manufacturing deal with Kemwell Biopharma for a potential treatment of retinal diseases. The two companies entered the agreement for the clinical production of Ocu200, a novel biologic candidate that could enter clinical trials in 2022. Ocu200 will first be tested to treat diabetic macular edema (DME), but Ocugen also stated that, depending on clinical success, it could seek to expand treatment targets to diabetes retinopathy and wet-age related macular degeneration. The potential therapy is a novel…

October 12, 2020

Orgenesis acquires cell therapy specialist Koligo for $15m

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Orgenesis agrees merger with regenerative medicine company, gaining access to a commercial cell therapy, a COVID-19 candidate, and bioprinting technology. The two companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement, which is expected to close by the year’s end. Orgenesis will pay $15 million (€12.7 million) in shares of its common stock to Koligo Therapeutic’s investors to secure the deal. Koligo possesses one commercially-available treatment, in the form of Kyslecel, which is an autologous pancreatic islet cell therapy used to…

October 2, 2020

Humanigen strikes third manufacturing deal for COVID-19 therapy

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Humanigen has partnered with Thermo Fisher for the manufacture of its potential COVID-19 therapy lenzilumab as it enters Phase III trials. Lenzilumab is being explored as a treatment for ‘cytokine storm’, an overreaction of the immune system, which has occurred in those suffering from the disease. Humanigen agreed the deal with Thermo Fisher in anticipation of a potential approval for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later this year. The two partners have agreed…

September 25, 2020