Evonik and Stanford will begin a three-year research collaboration to develop a polymer-based drug delivery system for mRNA therapeutics. German contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Evonik will license and commercialize Stanford University’s polymer-based drug delivery system, which enables broader use of messenger RNA (mRNA). The CDMO work will take place at Evonik’s facilities in Vancouver, Canada and Birmingham, USA. “The platform is called CART (Charge Altering Releasable Transporters),” vice president of R&D, Innovation for Evonik Stefan Randl told BioProcess Insider.…

Eisai and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) will co-develop and manufacture MORAb-202, an antibody-drug conjugate treatment for endometrial, ovarian, lung and breast cancers. Under the deal Eisai and BMS will develop and commercialize MORAb-202 in Japan, China and the wider Asia-Pacific region, the US, Canada, the EU the UK and Russia. BMS will develop and commercialize the drug elsewhere. Eisai will remain responsible for the manufacturing and supply of the product globally. BMS will pay $650 million to Eisai including $200 million…

Danaher Corporation will add protein production, plasmid DNA, and mRNA services to its bulging life sciences portfolio through the acquisition of Aldevron. The deal will see Danaher Corporation buy North Dakota-headquartered contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Aldevron from private equity firm EQT for $9.6 billion. The business will operate as a standalone within Danaher’s Life Sciences segment, which includes such businesses as bioprocessing firms Pall Corporation and Cytiva, bought for $13.8 billion and $21 billion, respectively. Through the acquisition,…

GSK has the leading portfolio of antibodies targeting immune-oncology therapies as it agrees to co-develop and commercialize EOS-448 with iTeos. British firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has agreed to an upfront payment of $625 million to iTeos Therapeutics. However, the deal could be worth $1.45 billion with potential milestones and royalty payments dependent on the success of EOS-448. EOS-448 is an anti-T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT) monoclonal antibody (mAb), which is currently in Phase I development as a…

Astrea has named Terry Pizzie as chief executive officer. Meanwhile, new officers join BIO’s governing board. Sit back, relax, and enjoy BioProcess Insider’s Ins & outs. Kick starting this week’s Ins & Out’s is Astrea Bioseparations (operating company of Gamma Biosciences), which has appointed Terry Pizzie to succeed Steve Burton as CEO. “Steve has been a key leader at Astrea Bioseparations since its early days as a spin out from the University of Cambridge and will continue as such in his new role…

GenScript ProBio will promote and advertise Calidi Biotherapeutics’ allogeneic cell technology platform SNV-1 to current and future clients. Under the terms of the agreement, Calidi will train and equip the Genscript sales team to present its SuperNova-1 (SNV-1) technology to their current customers. According to the firm, it recognizes the problems that surround oncolytic viruses as the immune system of the patient attacks and eliminates a large amount of the oncolytic virus from the body. “In many cases, 95%+ of…

CureVac has named Klaus Edvardsen as its chief development officer. Meanwhile, there are changes at Gamida Cell and AavantiBio. Sit back, relax, and enjoy BioProcess Insider’s Ins & outs. Up first in this week’s Ins & Out’s we have mRNA firm CureVac, which has appointed Edvardsen as chief development officer effective from August 1, 2021. “We are very pleased that Klaus is joining us in highly dynamic times for the company,” said Franz-Werner Haas, CEO of CureVac. “He brings a wealth of…