Global Markets Archives - BioProcess InternationalBioProcess International

Maturing gene therapy pipelines driving Catalent growth and expansion

As pharma’s gene therapy pipeline matures, Catalent plans to invest more in the sector to meet high viral vector demand and advance growth. For the third quarter 2022, contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Catalent reported total revenues of $1.27 billion, an increase of 21% year-on-year. Catalent’s biologics segment came out as the top contributor to the CDMO’s financial performance, showcasing $698 million, representing net revenue growth of 30%over last year. Part of this success was due to “a notable increase”…

Podcast: Biopharma’s evolving relationships with CDMOs

by Dan Stanton

M&A, new modalities, and COVID-19 have all changed the way drug sponsors work with their third-party manufacturers, according to delegates from Samsung Biologics, Catalent, and AGC Biologics. The BioProcess Insider Expression Platform (BIEP) podcast is back, with an in-depth look at the evolving relationships between biopharma and their contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) partners. Recorded live from EBD’s BIO Europe Spring event last month, BioProcess Insider discussed the changing dynamic and reliance drug sponsors have with their CDMOs with:…

Pfizer pledges to pull out of Russian manufacturing pacts

by Dan Stanton

Pfizer says it is ceasing all future investment to build manufacturing capacity in Russia due to Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine. Putin’s universally criticized invasion of Ukraine has sent shockwaves across the world, with the pharma industry just one of many affected. Clinical trials have been disrupted, and the deepening conflict has driven concerns surrounding supply chains. Big Pharma has had a mixed response regarding its presence in the area, but several companies have announced they have scaled back activities…

Shingrix sales bounce back post-pandemic for GSK

by Millie Nelson

GSK says its vaccine turnover for this quarter benefited from Shingrix’s post-pandemic recovery in the US and Europe. For the first quarter 2022, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) reported its vaccine business made a total of £1.7 billion ($2.1 billion) in sales. £698 million ($866 million) of this was made up of Shingrix sales, the firm’s non-live, recombinant subunit vaccine for the prevention of shingles (herpes zoster). According to GSK, its vaccine business benefited from Shingrix’s “strong demand recovery.” The firm claims it…

Novartis CGTs first quarter 2022: Zolgensma up, Kymriah down

by Dan Stanton

Novartis reports increased sales for gene therapy Zolgensma due to expanded global access, but the failure in the second-line DLBCL setting will affect Kymriah sales. For Swiss Pharma giant Novartis’ cell and gene therapy (CGT) division, first quarter 2022 results were mixed. On the positive side, Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec) pulled in $363 million during the quarter, up 18% year-on-year due to increased access outside of the US. Sales of the one-time spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) gene therapy — approved in the…

China’s I-Mab allegedly seeking asset or company sale

by Richard Daverman

Shanghai-based I-Mab is in talks with global drugmakers about a potential sale of the whole company or its oncological assets, according to a Bloomberg article. The Bloomberg article claims US and EU pharmas were interested in I-Mab, given its portfolio of 10 clinical stage oncology antibodies plus access to the world’s second largest pharmaceutical market. Bloomberg noted that I-Mab has lost three-fourths of its market value since the prices for pharmaceutical companies peaked in June 2021. When it announced its…

Danaher and Sartorius: COVID just one variable affecting bioprocess growth

by Dan Stanton

Comments from J&J have led to questions surrounding the long-term revenues from COVID-19 vaccines. However, the sector is just one area driving bioprocess growth, both Danaher and Sartorius say. While the COVID-19 virus is still virulent in some areas, the rapid development, scale-up, and delivery of vaccines over the past two years has helped bring the world back to some sense of normality. The unprecedented roll-out has resulted in hundreds-of-billions of dollars ending up in the pockets of several vaccine…

China: US auditors can examine US-listed companies in policy change

by Richard Daverman

China plans to furnish US auditors with full access to the financial records of China companies that have US listings. The change seems to solve a looming crisis between the two countries, as the US is currently threatening to de-list all China companies that closed their financial documents to US auditors. The revised regulation will allow scrutiny of China-based companies’ books, while detailing how to handle national security information, which will remain protected. The new policy was announced earlier this…

German pandemic prep wins for GSK, CureVac, Wacker, and more

by Dan Stanton

As part of a pandemic preparedness plan, Germany has struck several deals to secure manufacturing capacity for hundreds-of-millions of doses of mRNA-based vaccines. To support the continued COVID-19 pandemic and to be better prepared for future health crises, Germany has secured messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine manufacturing capacity across a range of partners. The first deal, announced last week, sees German vaccine maker BioNTech reserve and maintain manufacturing capabilities to produce at least 80 million mRNA-based vaccine doses per year for…

Cash strapped Bluebird cuts staff and focuses on late stage gene therapies

by Gareth Macdonald

Bluebird Bio is cutting its workforce and prioritizing late phase gene therapy projects to reduce costs. The US biotech announced the staff cuts this week, explaining the aim is to deliver up to $160 million in operational savings over the next two years. It did not share further details. At the start of the year, Massachusetts-based Bluebird said it employed 518 people, 330 of whom work in R&D with 188 engaged in commercial, finance, legal, business development, human resources, information technology,…