Intellectual property rules will encourage drug and vaccine firms to invest in the production capacity needed during future pandemics, according to industry group IFPMA. The industry group stressed the need for “robust” IP laws in a statement issued earlier this month, arguing access to vaccines and medical countermeasures is in part determined by developers’ willingness to invest in local manufacturing capacity. “Fostering sustainable manufacturing globally that can scale-up for high volume supply in future pandemics. The right enabling environment to…

Ongoing CAPEX projects will cost $550 million but only the most critical projects will be funded going forward as Catalent attempts to put out financial and operational fires. Amid numerous internal issues, contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Catalent delayed its third quarter fiscal year 2023 financials for a third time and instead provided a business update Friday. “This is not at all the call we expected to have now, and we are not at all where we expected to…

Talent pool, logistics, and a collaborative ecosystem are three overarching reasons why your CGT firm should invest in the Netherlands, says Invest in Holland. The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) works with the nationwide Invest in Holland network, which is a governmental organization. Marit Vink, project manager Life Sciences & Health at NFIA/Invest in Holland told delegates attending BPI Europe 2023, Amsterdam there is a “big focus” on cell and gene therapies (CGTs) in the country. The country is already…

Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) says its collaboration with the WHO helps to empower lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC) to manufacture vaccines and therapies locally. In 2021 the mRNA technology platform was founded by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) – a global health advocacy group funded by the multi-government initiative Unitaid. The collaboration, announced in response to the inequality in access to healthcare highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, aims to increase health security in LMICs, helping…

Those looking to buy Bilthoven, The Netherlands-based vaccine contract manufacturer Intravacc have until 2 June to contact the Dutch State. Founded in 2013, Intravacc is a 200-person strong contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with a 2,000 square-meter site located in the Utrecht Science Park, Bilthoven with two GMP facilities offering production up to 200 L. The state-owned vaccine maker has transferred its technology for vaccines including polio, measles, DTP, Hib and influenza. The firm played a part in an…

Despite COVID-19 highlighting supply chain issues, biomanufacturers are still using single sources, say experts at BPI West. In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, single-use bioprocess systems and materials were highlighted as necessary tools in the development and commercial manufacture of potential vaccines and therapies. Said materials and equipment were already in high demand throughout the sector, but the pandemic placed further pressure on raw material and bioprocess equipment supply, with lead times for some single-use components equating to a…

French pharma-cosmetic company Pierre Fabre has acquired the rights from Scorpion Therapeutics for two epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors in Europe and China. Pierre Fabre will pay $65 million upfront and up to $553 million in milestones, plus royalties for the two candidates, described by Boston, Massachusetts-based Scorpion as highly selective mutant EGFR inhibitors aimed at treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Scorpion will retain commercialization rights to STX-721 and STX-241 in the US, Canada, and Japan, while Pierre…

The plant in Swiftwater, Pennsylvania will provide formulation and filling services and supports the US Government’s strategy to increase domestic production capabilities. In 2019, Sanofi’s vaccine division won a contract with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with the Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority (BARDA) providing $226 million to support pandemic influenza vaccine production. The contract involved three stages of expansion at the Pennsylvania site to support Sanofi’s adjuvanted recombinant pandemic influenza vaccine. Following the doubling…

Recruiting for its Melbourne plant will be straightforward for Moderna after Victoria State Government and Monash University announced plans for an mRNA training center. The Victoria Government and Monash University teamed up to create the training center – at Monash’s Clayton campus in Melbourne, Victoria – this month, explaining the plan is to will teach the skills required for mRNA vaccine and therapeutic manufacturing. The idea is to draw on Monash’s pool of biotechnology talent and knowledge to deliver best-practice…

With the US Government pushing a domestic biomanufacturing policy, Korean drugmaker Celltrion says it assessing building a facility in the country. In September last year, US President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order to advance domestic biotechnology and biomanufacturing innovation. The White House has further advanced its position through the publication of a series of goals and priorities this month to support the Order. In a press conference Wednesday, Celltrion Group Chairman Seo Jung-jin said the Korean firm is “keeping a close…