Monday, April 12, 2021 Daily Archives

CGT firms making progress but manufacturing remains a hurdle, says analyst

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Cell and gene therapy developers have yet to address delivery, production and safety challenges but progress is being made. The conclusion came from RBC Capital Markets, which published analysis of trends in the cell and gene therapy sectors this week. According to executives quizzed by the market research firm, the biggest challenges that modern gene therapy firms face are pretty similar to those encountered by pioneers in the field a couple of decades ago. “Gene therapies hold considerable promise in…

April 12, 2021

Singapore site sets Sanofi’s vaccine spend at beyond $2bn

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After investing heavily to develop sites in France and Canada, Sanofi will now spend €400 million to establish a vaccine production center in Singapore. The €400 million ($476 million) investment over five years will see Sanofi develop a modular and flexible vaccine manufacturing site in Singapore to supply the Asian market. The site, once operational (estimated in the first quarter 2026) will be capable of running multiple types of vaccine manufacturing platforms and will be able to produce several different…

April 12, 2021

COVID-19 and cell and gene sector help to kickstart Pharma 4.0

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COVID-19 and the growth of the cell and gene therapy sector have pushed the pharma industry to use new and emerging technologies to solve manufacturing challenges.    Speaking at the recent BPI West virtual conference, co-founder and CEO of Apprentice Angelo Stracquatanio said the coronavirus pandemic has forced companies across the pharma industry to adapt and operate differently, particularly altering how and what technologies it opts to use.  With business “grossly disrupted,†he argued “the industry started to turn to new and emerging technologies to solve a lot of these key challenges that came up in…

April 12, 2021

Horseshoe crabs: COVID-19 further threat to ‘blue blood’ of industry

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The industry relies on horseshoe crab blood for endotoxin testing. These marine arthropods are endangered but the race to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines in large volumes is placing them under further threat. Often referred to as ‘living fossils’, horseshoe crabs have inhabited the Earth for more than 450 million years. For drugmakers, it is the horseshoe crab’s blue blood that has remained a fascination and until recently a necessity . The chemicals in the crab’s blood can react to harmful bacteria…

April 12, 2021