ReciBioPharm (previously Arranta Bio) has partnered with MIT to develop a continuous manufacturing technology for mRNA therapeutics. The three-year deal is part of the US Food and Drugs Administration’s (FDA’s) initiative to create a fully integrated, continuous production line for messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, which will support future pandemic threats. The project aims to advance mRNA therapeutics to patients globally, not just for rapid response against future pandemic threat. The deal will also research mRNA therapeutics to treat rare diseases,…

The impending acquisition of light scattering technology and software firm Wyatt will help Waters play in the $1.8 billion bioanalytical characterization market for new modalities, the firms says. In February, life sciences firm Waters Corporation announced its intentions to buy Wyatt Technology for $1.36 billion. When the deal closes – expected before the end of June – Waters will add the Santa Barbara, California-based family firm with a workforce of more than 200 employees and a range of bioanalytical technologies.…

Sandoz has inked a deal to access manufacturing technology – including continuous processes – from Just-Evotec to support a ramp-up in its biosimilar pipeline. Sandoz has the largest biosimilar portfolios, with eight commercialized products and at least seven products in its pipeline developed both inhouse and in collaboration with industry. With separation from parent firm Novartis imminent, Sandoz has said it is looking to add at least another nine biosimilars to its pipeline and has turned to Just-Evotec Biologics for…

Baxter International will focus fully on medtech after agreeing to sell its BioPharma Solutions (BPS) business to private equity firms Advent International and Warburg Pincus. Baxter’s BPS unit includes fill/finish manufacturing facilities serving the syringe and vial markets from several locations, including a site in Halle/Westfalen, Germany currently undergoing a $100 million expansion. The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2023, will see Baxter receive $4.25 billion in cash, which it will use to reduce its debt.…

Boehringer Ingelheim will use Ginkgo Bioworks’ natural product discovery platform to advance the development of novel therapeutics. The specific drug target has not been specified but Ginkgo said the partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim will aim to tackle some of the most complex and “undruggable” targets. Under the terms of the agreement, Ginkgo will receive an upfront research and development (R&D) payment from Boehringer Ingelheim. Additionally, Ginkgo has the potential to gain up to $406 million in R&D, regulatory, and commercial…

Johnson & Johnson has partnered with Cellular Biomedicine Group to advance, produce, and commercialize CAR-T cell therapies for the treatment of B-cell malignancies. The deal sees Chinese company Cellular Biomedicine Group (CBMG) receive an upfront payment of $245 million from J&J’s subsidiary Janssen Biotech. In return, CBMG will grant Janssen access to develop and commercialize its CAR-T assets, except in Greater China. Moreover, Janssen said it will bolster its portfolio in B-cell malignancies. The investigational CD20-directed autologous chimeric antigen receptor…

The Australian CDMO has been awarded a $3.3 million grant by the Australian Government’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to support the demand for mRNA. The contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) said the grant awarded under the government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) will fund activities with its industry partners to advance technologies for the production of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. In September 2020, Bridgewest Australia Holdings, a subsidiary of private investment firm Bridgewest Group, entered the biologics…

Astellas Pharma will add various ophthalmology treatments through the acquisition of US firm Iveric Bio for $5.9 billion. Iveric (formally known as Ophthotech) focuses on developing solutions for retina diseases and its key asset is avacincaptad pegol (ACP), which is in trials for the treatment of geographic atrophy (GA), a condition that can lead to vision loss.Once the deal closes, New Jersey-based Iveric Bio will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan’s Astellas. “Iveric Bio has promising programs including ACP,…

The $650,000 partnership hopes to reduce manufacturing cost and increase immunoactivity for iPSC-derived allogenic cancer immunotherapies. The strategic partnership between UK-based Plasticell and Singapore-based LambdaGen will develop induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs) derived chimeric antigen receptor-natural killer (CAR-NK) allogenic cancer immunotherapies. The collaboration is funded by EUREKA GlobalStars, an international research and development funding program. LambdaGen will be responsible for generating the iPSC lines engineered with CARs that enhance the anti-tumor activity of the body’s immune cells. Plasticell will use…

Biosimilar manufacturer Biocon Biologics will receive an additional investment of $150 million from Serum Life Sciences. The two Indian biopharma giants have announced they will withdraw from the original equity structure concerning their strategic alliance announced in September 2021. The deal saw the Serum Institute of India, via its subsidiary Serum Institute Life Sciences Private Limited, take a 15% stake in Biocon valued at around $4.9 billion. Biocon had received authorization from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Karnataka,…