Moderna will continue to use Personalis’ NeXT platform in its upcoming clinical trial of mRNA-4157/V940, an investigational personalized cancer vaccine.  The agreement, of which financial details have not been disclosed, sees the companies sign to continue to use Personalis’ NeXT platform to clinically evaluate mRNA-4157/V940, which is jointly developed by Moderna and Merck & Co. (known as MSD outside north America). Moderna transferred personalized cancer vaccine capabilities to its production facility in Norwood, Massachusetts in March 2019 and used the…

A potential takeover of Catalent by life sciences giant Danaher could reflect Thermo Fisher’s 2017 buyout of Patheon according to analysts, who value the CDMO at $20+ billion. Danaher Corporation is eying up a potential bid for contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Catalent, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported this weekend. When contacted, a Catalent spokesperson told us: “As a matter of company policy, the Company does not comment on market rumors or speculation.” Catalent’s share…

The firms will work collaboratively to develop an injection system for the delivery of Sensorion’s gene therapy products for the inner ear. EVEON, a company that designs and builds custom devices for preparation and administration of advanced therapeutic treatments, has partnered with Sensorion, a biotech firm that focuses on the development of therapies to treat, prevent, and restore hearing loss disorders. Together, they aim to design and advance an injection system to deliver Sensorion’s gene therapies to the inner ear,…

Andelyn Biosciences will produce Odylia Therapeutics’ gene therapy, OT-004, which aims to treat vision loss caused by the RPGRIP1 gene. Contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Andelyn has partnered with nonprofit biotech firm Odylia to produce OT-004, which is an investigational adeno-associated virus (AAV) that uses the ancestral AAV, Anc80 to create an efficient gene transfer of RPGRIP1 to treat vision loss in individuals that lack a functional copy of the gene. “Andelyn’s adherent production platforms utilize a transient transfection of…

AGC Biologics’ Bothwell, Washington site is commercially manufacturing Provention Bio’s type 1 diabetes (T1D) monoclonal antibody Tzield (teplizumab). Provention Bio said it selected AGC Bio to produce Tzield – the first authorized drug that can delay onset T1D –  after the contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) supported the drug ahead of its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2022. Tepilzumab is manufactured in two main stages: the upstream process followed by the downstream process,” Kevin…

Normax Biomed has partnered with Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF) at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) to provide access to Telesis Bio’s BioXP system. The agreement, of which financial details have not been divulged, will see NTU develop and discover gene therapies and messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines using the BioXP system. Irish mRNA-based company Normax claims the BioXP platform, created by Californian firm Telesis Bio, is the world’s first commercially available end-to-end fully automated bench top synthetic biology system . The…

Pfizer is set to acquire a drug substance facility in Sanford, North Carolina from Abzena to expand capacity and support its CentreOne clients. British contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Abzena announced the addition of a sixth global site in the US in January 2021. Three months later, the firm revealed it had selected Sanford, North Carolina as the site of a biologics manufacturing facility, which would cost the firm over $200 million and be equipped with 12x 2,000 L bioreactors.…

Avantor will supply Catalent with clinical and production materials, services, and laboratory supplies. Avantor, a company that provides products and services to clients in the life sciences space, has entered into a multi-year supply and services agreement with contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Catalent. No financial details of the deal are being disclosed but the partnership will see Catalent work with Avantor across more than 50 facilities situated across the globe. “Avantor is an existing supplier to Catalent,” a spokesperson…

The experience of leading the operational turnaround at Hospira provides a robust framework for advancing Abzena’s success, says newly appointed CEO Matthew Stober. Contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Abzena, which focuses on antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and biologic molecules, announced this month that Stober would replace Jonathon Goldman as CEO. Most recently, Stober held position of CEO at CastleVax and Istari Oncology. However, while all of his past job roles are undoubtedly influential, his experience of leading the turnaround of…

The project aims to develop Vector BioPharma’s gene delivery platform using iBET’s bioprocess and analytical methods.   The partnership between the two parties is in support of Vector Bio’s CMC (chemistry, manufacturing, and controls) development and the announcement follows the Swiss firm’s $30 million Series A fundraising in August 2022. To begin with, the multiphase partnership aims to advance an analytical method suitable for full-to-empty capsid ratio quantification from in-process as well as final purified samples. “Vector’s proprietary technology uses a…