VIVEbiotech has responded to the high demand for lentiviral vectors in the cell and gene therapy space by expanding its facilities. While no financial details have been disclosed, the Spanish contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) said it is ramping up its manufacturing capacity and processes enabling it to respond to lentiviral demand. “We are based in San Sebastian in northern Spain, very close to the French border,” a spokesperson told BioProcess Insider. “Our facilities will be increased in around 3,000…

Takeda has invested €36 million in its Grange Castle facility to support the expansion of its cell therapy manufacturing facility. Takeda Ireland, a subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, said its facility, located about 10km west of Dublin, will become the first commercial-scale cell therapy producton facility in Ireland, following the €36 million ($43 million) expansion.. “The expansion of the cell therapy manufacturing line in Grange Castle will help us to serve more patients worldwide,” a spokesperson for Takeda told BioProcess…

CDMO Recipharm has extended its drug product manufacturing license to include immunology products, expanding its biologics offering. The license applies to the firm’s facility in Wasserburg, Germany. It covers microbiological testing which allows Recipharm to carry out bacterial endotoxin testing on its customers’ products. “Certain bacteria (gram negative bacteria) can release constituents of their cell membrane,” general manager of Recipharm’s facility, Michael Isele told BioProcess Insider. “Bacterial endotoxins can only be destroyed by dry heat exceeding 300°C. Constituents of drug…

Having raised $150 million, Orchard hopes to expand its therapy pipeline into larger indications and says its HSC approach is not limited to the vector it uses. The firm has said the funding will also aid the launch of gene therapy Libmeldy in Europe. Last year, the firm received approval for the one-time treatment which is used to treat children with metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). Though often viewed as a single technology, the delivery mechanism, the vector, and the type of…