Author Archives: Dan Stanton

IBBR to lease biomanufacturing plant in ‘high-demand’ Maryland

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The Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) has invited biomanufacturers looking for a pilot plant within Maryland’s biotech corridor to apply to lease a former training plant. The 9,100 square-foot plant located just northwest of Washington DC in Maryland has been used by the IBBR to carry out GMP training and education programs but is now being offered to biotech and biomanufacturers by the institute, which is a collaboration between the University of Maryland and NIST. According to Viqar…

August 27, 2019

Bavarian Nordic looks to go big on back of smallpox vaccine

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Smallpox vaccine developer Bavarian Nordic says it will expand its infectious disease and cancer pipeline and grow its manufacturing network, possibly through M&A. Danish vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic laid out its growth vision during it second quarter 2019 financial call, and said it hopes to be a leading and profitable biotech company by 2023. To do this, the firm will look to its smallpox vaccine business as a starting point. Bavarian Nordic has a long-term contract for the manufacturing and…

August 26, 2019

Think your CMO is high maintenance? Let’s hope so

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Having a well-managed facility maintenance schedule can avoid lengthy shutdowns and lost revenues, says a regulatory expert. During the Q2 2019 reporting season, Samsung BioLogics reported revenues of KRW 78.1 billion ($65 million) compared to KRQ 15.1 billion recorded in the previous quarter. The Korean contract manufacturing organization (CMO) attributed the 38% drop to the plant operation rate temporarily decreasing at its 152,000 L plant number 2 during the quarter due to “regular maintenance essential for biopharmaceutical manufacturing.†According to…

August 26, 2019

US Gov provides Merck extra $23m for Ebola vaccine

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The Health and Human Services (HHS) funding will support continued development of V920, a live viral vectored vaccine designed to protect against Zaire Ebola virus, says Merck. Merck & Co. began developing a vaccine to protect against the Ebola virus following the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. In 2017, the firm received a definitive contract funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response of the HHS, originally worth $126 million (€114 million), to aid development…

August 23, 2019

Pfizer pumps $500m into NC gene therapy site

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The expansion in North Carolina will create 300 jobs and is the latest investment by Pfizer in its burgeoning gene therapy network. The $500 million (€450 million) investment in Sanford, North Carolina will see the Big Pharma firm construct a facility to support production of its recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors for use in its gene therapies and vaccines. Mike McDermott, president of Pfizer Global Supply, said the Sanford expansion will “strengthen Pfizer’s leadership in gene therapy manufacturing technology†and…

August 22, 2019

Evotec eyes US commercial biomanufacturing pod

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Months after buying platform firm Just.Bio, Evotec says it is evaluating the construction of the first modular J.POD for commercial manufacturing later this year. In May, German R&D services firm Evotec launched itself into the large molecule space through the $90 million (€81 million) acquisition of Just.Bio. The deal added several platform technologies aimed at reducing the cost of goods for proteins, including a large molecule manufacturing design platform, known as J.DESIGN and JP3, a lab and computational tool for…

August 20, 2019

New Zealand? Firm eyes US ops to prep for commercial peptides

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Zealand Pharma has taken its first steps to build US commercial operations with an aim to launch four peptides over the next five years. According to Zealand Pharma CEO Emmanuel Dulac, the Danish biotech has “one of the most predictive and promising platforms†in the therapeutic peptide space, and 20 years of discovery and R&D are rapidly approaching fruition. “We have proven that we can take multiple programs through the clinics and execute on them according to industry benchmarks. To…

August 20, 2019

From zero to $250m: Agilent aims to dominate cell analysis space

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With potentially three acquisitions within nine months, Agilent Technologies has rapidly grown its presence in the cell analysis space and says it aspires to grow further. Technology and services firm Agilent entered the bioanalysis space in 2015 when it acquired manufacturer of instruments and assay kits Seahorse Bioscience. Over the past nine months, Agilent has upped its position in the sector through the purchase of ACEA Biosciences, swiftly followed by the acquisition of Luxcel Biosciences , and just last month…

August 16, 2019

Dyadic: Deals stack up as industry looks to ‘game-changing’ expression system

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Another quarter of deal making by Dyadic International demonstrates how companies are looking to microorganisms instead of CHO to produce affordable drugs, the firm says. Numerous biopharma and biotech firms over the past few years have been turning to Dyadic International to access its C1 fungus-based expression system. The second quarter 2019 was no exception, with Luina Bio, Alphazyme, and the Serum Institute of India inking separate agreements with Dyadic within a two-week period. Such deals reflect Dyadic’s long-term vision…

August 16, 2019

Orchard to open CA plant in 2021 to support gene therapy pipeline

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Orchard Therapeutics says it will balance its existing CMO network with a planned facility in Fremont to create the infrastructure needed to commercialize its gene therapies. Orchard’s pipeline of ex vivo autologous gene therapies include the former GSK hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy Strimvelis – approved by the EMA in 2016 – and five clinical stage programs. The firm has been reliant on its network of contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) to produce these therapies, but late last year it announced it…

August 16, 2019