Moderna will build an 85,000 square-foot technical development center at its recently opened manufacturing site in Massachusetts to support its messenger RNA (mRNA) pipeline. mRNA products themselves are neither small molecules nor traditional biologics, but rather a ‘set of instructions’ directing cells to, essentially, ‘use the human body as the bioreactor’ and make the proteins needed to prevent or fight diseases. Moderna Therapeutics has over 20 mRNA-based products in its pipeline, including prophylactic vaccines, cancer vaccines, intratumoral immuno-oncology candidates, and…

Demand for viral vectors has emerged as a major M&A driver in the gene therapy CDMO space says an industry expert. Viral vectors are hollow viruses developers can fill with genetic material. When one of these vectors ‘infects’ a cell the genes inside are inserted and expressed as proteins. Vectors are vital for the production of gene therapies, including new products like Spark Therapeutics’ Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec-rzy) and AveXis’ Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi). The problem is that, for the past few…

Biocon has acquired an R&D plant in Chennai from Pfizer healthcare India and plans to set up the 60,000 square-foot space to support its 28 molecule-strong biosimilar pipeline. Financial details of the acquisition have not been divulged, but a spokesperson from Indian drugmaker Biocon told this publication it has “acquired R&D capital assets from Pfizer healthcare India Ltd.” Specifically, this is a 60,000 square-foot facility at the TICEL Bio Park in Chennai, India, which will be established as a “bench…

Pfizer will relocate clinical manufacturing activities from its Chapel Hill site to a newly acquired facility nearby in the latest ramp up of its North Carolina gene therapy capabilities. This week, big biopharma firm Pfizer acquired a piece of land and newly constructed building at 1219 Shiloh Glenn Drive, North Carolina – about 2 miles west of Raleigh-Durham International airport – set to become a center of clinical manufacturing for its gene therapy programs. Pfizer confirmed the news first broken…

GE Healthcare has teamed with cleanroom production firm Germfree to develop a modular biomanufacturing facility for emerging biotherapeutics and gene therapies. Bioprocess vendor GE Healthcare is no stranger to modular manufacturing platforms, with the likes of Bayer, Pfizer and Lonza all opting for its off-the-shelf KUBio platform modular biologics factory. Furthermore, to date 63 manufacturers have selected the firm’s FlexFactory bioprocess platform, which uses predominantly single-use technology. And now the company has partnered with Florida-based Germfree to co-develop a new…