Driven by demand for an increasing complexity and diversity of modalities, CDMO Rentschler has broken ground on a second facility in Milford, Massachusetts. German contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Rentschler laid down its US roots in 2019 when it bought a biomanufacturing facility from the now defunct Shire in January 2019 in Milford, Massachusetts – about 20 miles southwest of Boston. Now the firm has begun expanding its presence, breaking ground on facility adjacent to the ex-Shire plant set to…

The partnership with Aldevron has led to an mRNA breakthrough with their manufacturing approach proving 10 times more efficient than the previous process, says Ginkgo Bioworks. The collaboration, which was formed earlier in 2021, has resulted in what the firms have called a breakthrough for Vaccinia Capping Enzymes (VCEs) used to manufacture messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. VCEs cause the human body to recognize the RNA as something it can translate into a protein, which is essentially how the vaccine works.…

The facility in San Diego will support off-the-shelf NK and CAR-NK therapeutic manufacturing to treat solid and haematological cancers, the firm says. Construction of the 52,000 square-foot facility is already underway and is expected to open in 2022. The plant adds to Artiva’s cell therapy manufacturing site in South Korea. COO of Artiva Peter Flynn told BioProcess Insider that the site in Korea will continue its operations and the San Diego facility “is an additional site, it is not a…

BeiGene plans to build an R&D and biomanufacturing facility at a 42-acre site in Hopewell, New Jersey. The deal, of which financial details have not been disclosed, sees BeiGene enter into a purchase agreement to acquire a site at the Princeton West Innovation Campus where it will construct a commercial-stage biologic manufacturing and clinical R&D facility. Hopewell’s central location and closeness to a pharmaceutical research, development, and manufacturing talent pool were cited by the firm as reasons to expand its…

The facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina will support stainless steel-fed batch manufacturing and single-use technologies making the plant more flexible, the firm says. The $550 million investment comes one week after Amgen announced plans to construct a $365 million plant in New Albany, Ohio to support drug packaging. “We are building the facility to support the growing demand for Amgen medicines in the US market,” an Amgen spokesperson told BioProcess Insider. “This new ‘FleXBatch’ drug substance plant will increase…

“Virome” focused gene therapy vector firm Ring Therapeutics has raised $117 million in a funding round, attracting backing from venture capital funds and existing investors. The Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech announced completion of the series B fundraising round in July, explaining it will use the proceeds to further develop its range of vectors that are based on anelloviruses. CEO Tuyen Ong said. “With this funding, and the partnership of an exceptional group of investors joining us on this exciting journey, we…

BioNTech aims to develop the first vaccine for malaria using the same mRNA technology behind its COVID-19 success. BioNTech’s BNT162b2 became the first messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine to receive emergency use approval in December 2020. Now the German firm has launched its Malaria project, which aims to produce a successful malaria vaccine and create sustainable production and supply in Africa. According to the firm, it will evaluate various vaccine candidates that feature known malaria trargets such as the circumsporozoite protein…