Therapeutic Class Archives - Page 5 of 53 - BioProcess InternationalBioProcess International

Podcast: Life beyond Provenge as Dendreon enters CDMO world

As Dendreon secures its first manufacturing deal, we speak with VP of corporate strategy about the firm’s new direction in the cell therapy CDMO space. Dendreon Pharmaceuticals will provide process development, end-to-end logistics, and scalable cGMP manufacturing support for Shoreline Biosciences’s pipeline of allogeneic natural killer (NK) and macrophage cellular immunotherapies derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). Financials have not been disclosed but the deal marks the first contract announced by Dendreon since it relaunched itself as a contract…

Regeneron says tech was key to rapid COVID-19 mAb cocktail dev

by Gareth Macdonald

Efforts to combat COVID-19 were aided by a platform-based approach says Regeneron, which cites its mAb and cell line technologies as key to the process. REGEN-COV, Regeneron’s antibody cocktail reduces the risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization and death by 71 percent and lowers viral loads faster than a placebo according to data recently published in the NEJM. REGEN-COV is a combination of casirivimab and imdevimab. It was developed in less than a year, which is much faster than comparable therapies. Typically,…

Quality gene therapies require quality analytics

by Gareth Macdonald

Gene therapy quality depends on choosing the right analytical methods and technologies for each part of the production process says an expert from Biomarin. Lyndi Rice, head of the QC viral vector analytical group at Biomarin Pharmaceutical, told delegates at the BPI East conference in September: “Analytics are really critical from the start of the manufacturing process and all the way to the end of product testing and monitoring. “Release testing is critical for measuring product quality by assessing its…

J&J preps to enter cell therapy space as CAR-T approval decision approaches

by Dan Stanton

J&J says it will learn from pioneers in the cell therapy space as it preps its production network for the potential launch of its BCMA CAR-T product. J&J division Janssen Biotech entered the cell and gene therapy space in 2017, teaming up with Legend Biotech for the development of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel), a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell candidate specifically targeting the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and is known as LCAR-B38M in China . Nearly four years on, and the…

Boehringer’s adalimumab becomes first interchangeable mAb biosimilar

by Dan Stanton

The US FDA has approved Boehringer Ingelheim’s Cyltezo as the first biosimilar interchangeable with AbbVie’s blockbuster monoclonal antibody Humira (adalimumab). While biosimilars have offered cheaper versions of biological drugs in the US for six years, the issue of interchangeability has muddied the waters. An interchangeable biosimilar is one that can be substituted at the pharmacy level for the reference product without the prescriber having to change the prescription. Interchangeability is an additional standard beyond the requirement for biosimilarity and thus…

Room for both allogeneic and autologous in cell therapy space

by Gareth Macdonald

Allogeneic products may dominate the cell therapy sector thanks to tech and cost advantages but there will always be room for autologous treatments say experts. Cell therapies are either allogenic – derived from a universal donor – or patient-specific, autologous products. The products treat disease in the same way, what differs is the types of immune responses they generate and the process used to make them. And – according to a panel of experts at the BPI East conference in…

Avid turns to viral vector production on back of strong CGT growth

by Dan Stanton

CDMO Avid Bioservices will expand its biomanufacturing services to include viral vector development and production, investing up to $75 million in a California facility. Biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Avid Bioservices revealed today to build a 53,000 square foot viral vector development and GMP manufacturing facility in Costa Mesa, California at a cost of between $65 million to $75 million. The facility, which could be operational within two years, will initially support projects up to 200 L using…

Standardized AAV manufacturing: Why are AAV reference materials needed?

by Vigene Biosciences

The field of gene therapy is in great need for well characterized AAV reference materials, according to viral vector delivery services firm Vigene Biosciences. Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) is a widely used gene delivery tool for research and clinical applications in the gene therapy field. To compare the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of rAAV, well characterized AAV reference materials are needed for assays and in-house reference materials calibration. AAV reference materials are also essential for AAV in process development and AAV…

Iovance opens PA cell therapy plant; produces first batch of lifileucel

by Dan Stanton

The $85 million Iovance Cell Therapy Center (ICTC) has opened its doors at the Philadelphia Navy Yard with capacity to supply thousands of patients per year. Iovance celebrated the opening of its 136,000 square-foot commercial-scale production facility, commissioned in 2018 at a cost of around $85 million, this week. “Since Iovance was founded, we have been dedicated to advancing novel cell therapies for patients with solid tumor cancers,” Iovance CEO Frederick Vogt said. “A little over two years after breaking…

Gilead: ‘Cell therapy is at the very early stages of its penetration’

by Dan Stanton

Gilead Sciences says the advent of cell therapies into second line treatments and increased competition in the space will help boost the “under-penetrated” market. Having entered the cell and gene therapy space in August 2017 through the $11.9 billion acquisition of Kite Pharma, Gilead Sciences has cemented itself as a pioneer in the sector through the commercialization cell therapies: Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel), approved in the US in October 2017, and Tecartus (brexucabtagene autoleucel) approved in July 2020. According to Gilead’s CEO…