Friday, August 7, 2020 Daily Archives

BioProcess Insider Interviews Felix Hsu

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For the on-demand virtual BPI Theater at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s annual convention, BioProcess Insider founding editor Dan Stanton conducted a series of interviews to discuss trends in biomanufacturing. Here, we summarize his conversations with Felix Hsu, chief commercial and chief business officer at WuXi Advanced Therapies. WuXi Advanced Therapies has served the cell and gene therapy industry as a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for nearly two decades. When speaking with BioProcess Insider’s Dan Stanton, Hsu reflected on…

August 7, 2020

BioProcess Insider Interviews Steve Burton

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For the on-demand, virtual BPI Theater at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s annual convention, BioProcess Insider founding editor Dan Stanton conducted a series of interviews to discuss trends in biomanufacturing. Here, we summarize his conversation with Steve Burton, chief executive officer of Astrea Bioseparations. Astrea Bioseparations (formerly Prometic Bioseparations) is eager to expand in the wake of its acquisition by Gamma Biosciences, a platform for life-sciences tools and a subsidiary of KKR. Burton explained that before the acquisition, his company felt…

August 7, 2020

Calculated risk is key to rapid COVID-19 vaccine development says CEPI

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Taking calculated risks will accelerate SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development according to CEPI, which says traditional techniques are too slow. Developing a vaccine usually takes between six to 11.5 years according to the Gates Foundation backed Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). In traditional development models target identification can take six months to two years, followed by preclinical testing and up to a decade of clinical development. Manufacturing scale up also takes years. But the COVID-19 pandemic calls for a different approach…

August 7, 2020

Robust first half results as Repligen feels COVID-19 tailwinds

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A robust quarter included a ramp-up in COVID-19-related orders, something Repligen says will set the scene for increased revenues in the second half of 2020. “Our results for the second quarter and through the first half of 2020 have been stellar,†Repligen CEO Tony Hunt told stakeholders last week. “We delivered overall revenue growth of 25%, including organic growth of 19% in the second quarter.†This equates to $164 million for the first half, compared to $131 million over the…

August 7, 2020

AbbVie ends vectorized antibody accord with Voyager

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AbbVie has ended its Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease collaborations with Voyager Therapeutics. Voyager announced the termination of its tau and alpha-synuclein “vectorized†antibody development accords this week, explaining it retains full rights to the candidates and the vectorization technology on which they are based. Voyage spokesman Paul Cox told us “AbbVie exercised its right to terminate for convenience in accordance with the terms of the agreements,†citing the firm’s 8 K Filing. The tau and alpha-synuclein research collaborations were formed…

August 7, 2020