Author Archives: Millie Nelson

Donaldson buys reagent firm Isolere Bio

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The acquisition of Isolere aims to position Donaldson to form separation and filtration solutions for emerging genetic-based drugs, says firm. Minneapolis-based filtration firm, Donaldson Company, has bought early-stage biotech firm, Isolere, for an undisclosed fee. Isolere develops IsoTag reagents, which it says have been designed to drastically increase product quality and purity with quicker timelines to advance and enable access to affordable therapies. “With the integral addition of Isolere to our Life Sciences portfolio, Donaldson is positioned to create premier…

February 23, 2023

Myeloid to run $96m Australian RNA facility

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Myeloid Therapeutics has been selected to operate an RNA research and pilot manufacturing plant at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. The facility, which will be located at Macquarie University’s Wallumattagal campus, has been called the “first-of-its-kind” in Australia by the New South Wales (NSW) government.  The partnership between Myeloid and the NSW  Government aims to support the State’s ability to develop and produce RNA-based therapeutics and vaccines locally. “The cutting-edge work that will be done at this world-leading facility has…

February 22, 2023

Oxford Properties Group acquires Resilience site for $125m

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Oxford will acquire National Resilience’s manufacturing facility in Marlborough, Massachusetts and then lease the property back to the CDMO. Global real estate investor Oxford Properties Group (Oxford) says the purchase and lease back of the 120,000 square-foot biomanufacturing facility from and to contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Resilience will expand its North American footprint while raising proceeds for the CDMO. “This is a financing transaction that has no impact to operations. Resilience has sold the real estate of the site…

February 21, 2023

Maxion to develop antibody platform with $16m funding

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Maxion Therapeutics’ $16 million Series A financing round will be used to develop biologics targeting ion channels and GPCRs via its KnotBody platform. Cambridge, UK based firm Maxion said ion channels and G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are essential cell surface proteins, which can be used to treat a range of diseases, including chronic pain and autoimmune conditions. The Series A funding round, led by LifeArc Ventures, BGF, and Monograph Capital, will support the advancement of Maxion’s KnotBody platform. To date, small…

February 17, 2023

Theragent looks to AI as cell therapy CDMO ‘game-changer’

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CDMO Theragent has signed a multi-year agreement with AI-based software firm Insight68 to streamline and digitalize the cell therapy manufacturing process. Contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Theragent will have access to Insight68’s digital platform to scale manufacturing while managing production schedules with customers’ clinical trial schedules, derisking delivery of treatment to patient. Insight68’s platform has AI-driven capabilities, and the firm claims it can optimize and predict inventory, logistics, and production. Theragent said the platform tackles issues such as slow processing,…

February 16, 2023

Lonza to expand early development services into North America

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CDMO Lonza will expand its early development services (EDS) offering by constructing a laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Swiss contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Lonza said the expansion, of which financial details remain under wraps, is expected to be fully operational at the 17,000 square-foot facility in May 2023. According to the firm, its EDS offering enables customer support in de-risking, assessing, and optimizing drug candidate potential to make it to market. Lonza already has an EDS facility in Cambridge, UK…

February 16, 2023

Biotage to extend chromatography offering through $190m Astrea buy

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Swedish separations company Biotage is set to acquire Astrea Bioseparations to develop its chromatography services into biologics and advanced therapeutics. Subject to closing conditions, the deal will see $190 million paid at the time of closing in shares of Biotage stock, as well as a potential $45 million to be made in milestone-based cash payments. Additionally, the acquisition will provide Gamma Biosciences (which acquired Astrea – formerly known as Prometic Bioseparations – in November 2019)  a capital injection of $25 million. The…

February 15, 2023

The final hurrah? Humira sales hits $21.2 bn in 2022

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AbbVie expects Humira sales to fall to $13.7 billion, a 37% drop, as up to ten biosimilars are set to be available midyear. The firm reported $58 billion in total sales for 2022 with monoclonal antibody (mAb) Humira (adalimumab) contributing $21.2 billion, a 2.6% increase on the same period 2021. While the US experienced a 7.4% increase in sales annually, internationally, revenue decreased 22.2%, attributedto biosimilar competition. To date, Humira has pulled in sales of $214.2 billion for AbbVie (and previously Abbott) since…

February 15, 2023

AcuraBio picks Cytiva tech to offer pDNA service

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CDMO AcuraBio has selected Cytiva’s two-step purification system, AKTA readyflux, to provide a plasmid DNA (pDNA) service to its customers. According to Australia-based contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) AcuraBio, the offering of pDNA services to its customers aims to ease supply chain constraints for messenger RNA (mRNA) and cell and gene therapies (CGTs). “The demand for pDNA manufacture to support the clinical development of advanced therapies has never been greater. Demand has been fueled by the growth in vaccines and…

February 14, 2023

US FDA again delays Biocon bevacizumab approval on back of 483s

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The Complete Response Letter (CRL) outlines the need for Biocon Biologics to resolve observations made during facility inspections in August 2022. Biocon confirmed the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a CRL for the Biologics License Application (BLA) for a biosimilar version of Roche’s Avastin (bevacizumab) filed by Viatris (formerly known as Mylan). Biocon   acquired the biosimilars division from its partner Viatris in February 2022 in a deal worth $3.3 billion. “The US FDA has issued a CRL…

February 13, 2023