Upstream & Downstream Processing

Repligen: Robust bioprocess market will offset reduced COVID demand

Repligen has tweaked its guidance in the wake of diminishing COVID-related orders but remains positive going forward due to a “very strong order book†for its base business. For the first quarter 2022, Repligen Corporation reported record revenue of $206.4 million, 45% up on the same period last year. Despite this, the bioprocess vendor has reduced its full year guidance by 4% from $800-$830 million to $770-$800 million due to the fall in COVID-related demand, something expected to continue throughout…

Formulation lap: Sanofi turns to McLaren for manufacturing efficiency

Sanofi has teamed with Formula 1 racing team McLaren to optimise manufacturing efficiencies within its network. The multiyear deal will see Sanofi’s Industrial Affairs team benefit from McLaren Racing team’s digital and analytical expertise tto achieve excellence in manufacturing operations. “Analysis of losses, modelling and simulation of production line scheduling, and specifically product change-overs, will be key areas to maximise performance in Sanofi manufacturing sites,†McLaren said in a press release. Both Sanofi and McLaren Racing “operate in a truly…

Danaher and Sartorius: COVID just one variable affecting bioprocess growth

Comments from J&J have led to questions surrounding the long-term revenues from COVID-19 vaccines. However, the sector is just one area driving bioprocess growth, both Danaher and Sartorius say. While the COVID-19 virus is still virulent in some areas, the rapid development, scale-up, and delivery of vaccines over the past two years has helped bring the world back to some sense of normality. The unprecedented roll-out has resulted in hundreds-of-billions of dollars ending up in the pockets of several vaccine…

MAST away: Lonza sells bioreactor sampling tech to MilliporeSigma

MilliporeSigma says the addition of the MAST (Modular Automated Sampling Technology) platform will help its customers optimize their bioprocesses and speed up development time. Lonza is offloading the platform to bioprocess vendor and fellow contract manufacturer MilliporeSigma – the life sciences service division of Germany’s Merck – for an undisclosed fee. The technology provides biomanufacturers near real-time sampling and analysis of bioreactors, the results of which can be used to deliver a range of analytical devices measuring titer, metabolites, and…

Evonetix hits milestone in development of DNA synthesis

Synthetic biology company Evonetix has achieved enzymatic DNA synthesis capability with its thermally controlled synthesis chemistry, allowing the production of scarless DNA sequences. Evonetix is aiming to bring semiconductor technology to DNA synthesis and claims it has achieved enzymatic DNA synthesis through its thermally controlled synthesis chemistry, which is part of a three-year development program supported by Innovated UK and Durham University. The firm said the results demonstrate that its semiconductor array-based platform is compatible with enzymatic and chemical DNA…

The 4 degrees of automation in cell therapy manufacture

With cell therapy firms looking beyond manual production methods, Cellares claims its ‘factory-in-a-box’ Cell Shuttle platform can offer the ultimate in walk-away automation on an industrial-scale. For years, industry has looked to automated processes to make cell therapies safely and at scale. Success has been variable, but developers continue investing in automated technologies to help make their complex therapies cost-effective. “A lot of people agree that automation is the way to go,†Fabian Gerlinghaus, co-founder and CEO of Cellares told…

Maravai LifeSciences: $11bn+ would deliver Sartorius a nucleic acid unit

According to media reports, Sartorius is looking to buy Maravai LifeSciences. We look at how such an acquisition may bolster Sartorius’ biopharma arsenal through a robust nucleic acid business. A Reuters exclusive last week claimed Sartorius made an offer to buy fellow life science vendor Maravai for $42 per share, or roughly $11 billion. The offer was allegedly rebuffed, according to sources close to the matter. Maravai provides products and services to enable the development and manufacture of drug therapies,…

eBook: Gene Therapies —
Developers Slowly Emerge from a Pandemic

This eBook gauges shifting expectations for the gene therapy industry amid the COVID-related uncertainties and clinical setbacks of the past couple years. BioProcess Insider founding editor Dan Stanton reports on the January 2022 Phacilitate Advanced Therapies Week event, specifically a standing presentation on the 10 most important industry drivers from the past year. Since 2017, advancements in gene therapies have featured prominently in these presentations. In 2021, gene therapies again made the list, but this time for more troubling reasons,…

Twist leaves gene production problems behind; looks to ‘Factory of the Future’

Twist Bioscience reported a robust first quarter, having overcome a gene production issue last year that led a temporary halt in supply. For the first quarter fiscal year 2022, DNA synthesis firm Twist Bioscience reported revenues and orders of $42 million and $49.6 million, up 50% and 48% year-on-year, respectively. This included around $13.5 million in gene production for Twist’s partner with SynBio, a deal inked in 2017 that sees the firm manufacture synthetic DNA up to 3.2 kilobases in…

Thermo’s $39bn+ sales driven by 25% y-o-y biopharma growth

Thermo Fisher has increased its guidance for 2022 predicting that COVID-19 related work and the contribution from PPD would drive growth. The technology and services firm announced the revision last week during a full year earnings call when it revealed that full year revenue grew 22% to $39.21 billion. It went on to explain that organic revenue – sales generated by Thermo’s core businesses – increased 17%. It also said the contribution from acquisitions – including contract research organization PPD which…