Resilience revisits the Middle East with Saudi Arabia JV

CDMO Resilience has inked a joint venture with Saudi Arabian drug company Lifera to build a drug product manufacturing facility in Riyadh.

The contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) will help to design and construct the cGMP facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which will be operated by local pharma company Lifera.

“The joint venture opportunity represents a continued expansion of our international strategy as we seek to benefit patients worldwide by advancing biopharmaceutical supply chains,” Resilience CEO Rahul Singhvi said. Resilience will own a minor stake in the facility, but further details of the deal have not been divulged.

DepositPhotos/wollertz

Once complete, the plant aims to produce 125 million units annually, supporting Lifera’s products in the region in the first instance. Specifically, the plant will provide the aseptic filling of inactivated/bacterial vaccines, mRNA vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, plasma derived products, and large molecules.

“We are pleased to partner with Resilience to advance Lifera’s mission to grow Saudi Arabia’s biopharma sector,” said Ibrahim Aljufalli, chair of the Lifera Board. “This collaboration will also provide education and training opportunities for Saudi citizens to become highly skilled and experienced biopharma professionals and provide resources to foster collaborative research opportunities across Saudi Arabia.”

No further information was provided when Resilience was contacted by this publication.

‘National’ Resilience?

Resilience entered the biopharma space in November 2020 with $800 million under its belt to provide ‘new, better, and faster ways’ to advance cell and gene therapies. The company quickly grew through a series of investments and facility takeovers in North America, growing its capabilities beyond cell and gene therapies to include vaccines, nucleic acids, biologics, and more.

However, recent developments have led to the question of whether the company’s official name ‘National Resilience’ is a misnomer.

Earlier this year, the company reduced operations at a former Sanofi plant in Allston, Massachusetts acquired in February 2021, following the ending of its contract to manufacture enzyme replacement therapy Cerezyme. Meanwhile, a second site in Marlborough, Massachusetts was sold to real estate investor Oxford Properties Group. The CDMO now leases the plant and says operations were not affected by the financial deal.

But outside North America, the firm has been making advances in the Middle East. The Saudi Arabian joint venture comes seven months after the firm signed a deal with investor Mubadala Investment Company PJSC to establish a facility in Abu Dhabi, UAE.