BrevisRefero has launched a Request For Proposal (RFP) platform aimed at helping biopharma better select its third-party manufacturing partners. The pharma world has for years relied on outsourcing partners. Contract research organizations (CROs) are used to carry out clinical trials, third parties manage transport and logistics, and of course contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) support production of nearly every component of the drug production process. Now the biopharma space can outsource the outsourcing process itself, through an online RFP…

Thermo Fisher Scientific is poised to add coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 test kit to its diagnostics business after agreeing an $11.5bn takeover of Qiagen NV. The firms announced the agreement on Tuesday, valuing Qiagen at $11.5 billion, or €39 ($43.4) per share. Thermo CEO Marc N. Casper said, “This acquisition provides us with the opportunity to leverage our industry-leading capabilities and R&D expertise to accelerate innovation and address emerging healthcare needs. “For shareholders, we expect the transaction to be immediately accretive and…

The acquisition of monoclonal antibody developer Forty Seven complements Kite’s CAR-T therapy franchise in targeting cancers, says Gilead. Under deal terms announced Monday, Gilead will pay $95.50 (€85.50) for each share of Menlo Park, California-based Forty Seven, totaling $4.9 billion. Forty Seven’s lead CD47-blocking drug, an antibody called magrolimab, is being tested in combination with chemotherapy in separate studies evaluating it as a treatment for two types of blood cancer: a group of disorders called myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute…

The expansion at a cell culture facility in Research Triangle Park will feed the demand for growing biologics pipelines, says CDMO Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. Contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Fujifilm broke ground on a 31,778 square-foot extension at its site in Research Triangle Park, Morrisville, North Carolina, which will add recovery and purification suites to support biomanufacturing. The firm says it will increase its cell culture manufacturing capacity by approximately 25% and microbial capacity by approximately 50% when the…

MukoCell GmbH has hired Co.don AG to manufacture its autologous cell-based treatment for urological disorders. The deal will see Co.don make the product – also named MukoCell – at its recently established human cell-focused manufacturing facility in Leipzig, Germany. Matthias Meißner, Co.don director of corporate communications, told us MukoCell “is an innovative and gentle method for the surgical repair of urethral strictures.” A urethral stricture is a narrowing of the urethra caused by injury, instrumentation, infection, and certain non-infectious forms of urethritis. MukoCell…