Blockchain tech is ideal for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine supply chains according to an expert who says efficiency and trust are vital. In the six or so months since SARS-CoV2 – the causative agent of COVID-19 – was detected, public health efforts have focused on finding ways to slow the spread of the virus until a vaccine could be developed. In parallel vaccine developers have accelerated their efforts. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) there are 23 candidate SARS-CoV2 jabs in…
Rovi has joined the list of CDMOs that will make Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine candidate if it is approved. Rovi – also known as Laboratorios Farmacéuticos Rovi – will provide commercial fill-finish and packaging services for mRNA-1273 at its facility in Madrid, Spain under a contract announced last week. Moderna said Rovi would support production of hundreds of millions of doses to supply markets outside of the US starting in early 2021. The US firm also said ROVI would hire extra manufacturing operations and…
CDMOs Rentschler Biopharma and Vetter say demand for lower cost, more streamlined manufacturing services prompted partnership. The Germany-based contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) announced the formation of a strategic alliance on Monday. The idea is to offer customers Rentschler’s drug substance manufacturing capacity in combination with Vetter’s aseptic fill and finish and secondary packaging services. Rentschler spokeswoman Cora Kaiser cited market dynamics as the driver for the collaboration, explaining “Drug development is growing increasingly complex and cost intensive. Biopharmaceutical…
COVID-19 focused drug and vaccine firms need to keep a close eye on the US FDA according to lawyers who predict manufacturing and trial rules will continue to change. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its latest guidance for firms developing vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – last week. The document sets out what trial data vaccine firms will need to supply. It also makes clear developers will have to seek approval the traditional…
Curevac and car maker Tesla claim their development RNA production tech is less labour intensive and more deployable than alternatives. The technology – described as a Bioreactor for RNA in vitro Transcription – allows the DNA templates from which the RNA is produced to be used multiple times. It is also automated, which Curevac and Tesla say will minimize handling steps and make manufacturing processes more robust. The firms contrast their technology with current systems, which involve “many separate manufacturing…
CRISPR Therapeutics will build a manufacturing facility in Framingham, Massachusetts to make cell therapies for trials and commercialization. The facility will accelerate its clinical development efforts according to CRISPR, which said it plans to hire up to approximately 100 full-time employees. CRISPR said the plant is being designed to provide GMP manufacturing in compliance with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) regulations and guidelines. CEO Samarth Kulkarni stressed that the facility will not replace the…
Biogen, Amgen, Pfizer, Genentech and Sanofi have teamed with an MIT-led group aiming to develop new biomanufacturing cell lines and methods. The collaboration – known as the AltHost Consortium – will share research to explore innovative ways to produce biologics and vaccines for clinical usage in diseases from diabetes to cancer. Lead researcher Christopher Love from MIT likened the collaboration to the early days of the biopharmaceutical industry. “When biomanufacturing first emerged as a field, shared knowledge across laboratories was…
Emergent Biosolutions has set out to capture a share of the expanding viral vector and gene therapy sector. The US countermeasures developer said it will spend $75 million to add viral vector and gene therapy manufacturing capacity at a facility in Canton, Massachusetts. At present the plant – which was acquired from Sanofi in 2017 – produces drug substance for live viral vaccines, including Emergent’s smallpox jab ACAM2000. Emergent said the investment will establish a multi-suite production operation with 1,000…
The US FDA has warned Japanese drug firm Takeda about its plant in Hikari, Japan after an inspection conducted last November. According to a letter from the regulator, inspectors who visited the site identified a number of problems with the facility’s quality control unit. The agency wrote, “Our inspection found that your Quality Unit (QU) did not take appropriate steps prior to resumption of aseptic manufacturing after a shutdown that included multiple significant activities that compromised cleanroom control.†It also…
Grifols SA says it will spend $351.6 million to build a plasma facility and logistics center in Clayton, North Carolina. The investment – which was announced by the office of North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper – will create 300 jobs when the facility is operational. Operations at the new site will be focused on fractionation, the process of separating different components from blood plasma harvested from donors across the US. Grifols said the additional capacity will help cater for growing…