Global Markets

Lithuania’s talent pool ‘ready and waiting’ to service biopharma needs, says development agency

Biopharma companies around the world have reported concerns regarding talent shortages across the industry, but Invest Lithuania says it has a large talent pool ready and waiting. There is a general consensus among professionals that the amount of talent coming through is not reflective of the huge investment in capacity being seen across the Life Sciences industry. Companies such as Lonza, SwedenBIO, and pharma recruitment firm Lead Candidate have expressed their talent shortage concerns at different points last year. However,…

Amgen: Not treating biosimilars as ‘stepchild’ is key to success

Amgen says using the same development expertise and manufacturing capabilities for both its biosimilar and novel biologic programs sets it apart in the industry. Pharma firm Amgen is one of a handful of firms that has successfully invested in both innovator products and biosimilars – biologics that are very similar to reference biologics and for which there are no clinically meaningful differences in terms of safety, purity, and potency. With expected 2021 biosimilar revenues set to reach $2 billion, CEO…

British American Tobacco launches plant-based biotech KBio

The UK-headquartered biotech will combine British American Tobacco’s plant-based technology capabilities with subsidiary Kentucky BioProcessing. In 2020, Kentucky BioProcessing (KBP), the wholly owned subsidiary of the Big Tobacco firm British American Tobacco (BAT), entered the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. Development of the candidate is ongoing, but the program, will now fall under the arm of KBio Holdings Limited (KBio), a newly launched biotech incorporating the two entities. “It’s a new company, which essentially incorporates KBP activities and aims…

COVID driving revs but patent loss and markets continue to shape pharma

COVID-19 will be a revenue driver and R&D focus for biopharma, but pre-pandemic factors like patent expiry and emerging markets continue to shape the sector says IQVIA. The research services and analytics firm made the comments in a report, predicting spending on meds will reach $1.8 trillion by 2026 with a significant contribution coming from COVID-19 vaccine and booster shot sales. According to the authors, “The total cumulative spending on COVID-19 vaccines since their introduction through 2026 is projected to…

Novavax COVID-19 vaccine wins EMA approval

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended granting conditional marketing authorization for Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373. Novavax’ COVID-19 vaccine, known as Nuvaxovid, is the fifth vaccine recommended in the European Union (EU) for preventing SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, the firm claims it is the first protein-based COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in Europe. Nuvaxovid is made using Novavax’ proprietary nanoparticle technology and Matrix–M adjuvant – to market and the firm received $1.6 billion of US government assistance through the ‘Operation Warp Speed’ program…

BioProcess Insider State of the Industry — December 2021 Panel Discussion

This webcast features: Georgia Sloboda, Managing Director, Latham BioPharm Group; John Hamer, Head of Sales & Marketing, Aseptic Filling Workcells, Cytiva; and James Taylor, PhD, Co-Founder & General Manager, Precision Nano Systems Inc. BioProcess Insider’s State of the Industry takes a deeper look into the recent business news affecting the biomanufacturing industry, picking apart the numbers and highlighting potential trends. With a panel of industry experts, editor Dan Stanton will discuss recent M&A in the bioprocess space, bottlenecks within the…

Ampersand backs Alliance Pharma and plans ‘aggressive’ growth plan

Private equity firm Ampersand Capital Partners has invested in bioanalytical services contractor, Alliance Pharma. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed. Ampersand confirmed that company founder and president, Frank Li, will remain a significant shareholder in Alliance. Malvern, Pennsylvania-headquartered Alliance provides discovery bioanalytical, DMPK, regulated bioanalysis, biomarker, LC-MS/MS, immunoassay services as well as cell and gene therapy and protein characterization. The firm works on all stages of drug development from animal studies through all phases of clinical development. It…

‘Incredible demand’ for talent leaving gaps throughout bio-outsourcing space

Pharma recruitment firm Lead Candidate says a perfect storm of factors has contributed to a shortage of professionals across key functions, and the pandemic has only made recruiting more difficult. Business across the pharma and bio-outsourcing space is robust, whether at third-party manufacturing companies, contract research organizations (CROs), or pharma services firms. However, such a vigorous environment means the need for skilled staff has never been higher, creating something of a bottleneck going forward. Life sciences talent sourcing firm Lead…

Danaher and COVID: $2bn orders for 2022 without potential Omicron windfall

COVID-19 continues to drive bioprocess orders for Danaher Corporation, but the extended vaccine rollout and the unknown impact of the Omicron variant could see a further surge in 2022. In April, Danaher spoke about its efforts in the manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, adding an estimated $2 billion in 2021 revenue to its bioprocess businesses Cytiva and Pall. As 2022 appears over the horizon, CEO Rainer Blair told delegates at the Evercore ISI Annual HealthCONx Conference orders for COVID-related…