Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, a major contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has entered into a 10-year manufacturing supply agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, valued at over $3 billion. The deal has the Fujifilm subsidiary providing U.S.-based manufacturing for Regeneron, with planned expansions at Fujifilm’s large-scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The Holly Springs…
Purdue, Eli Lilly, Merck form new pharma manufacturing consortium
Purdue University, Eli Lilly and Co., and Merck & Co. have launched the Young Institute Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Consortium, a collaborative effort to pioneer advances in making medicines. Operating within Purdue’s William D. and Sherry L. Young Institute for Advanced Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals, consortium partners will focus on advancing pharmaceutical manufacturing, according to a Jan. 17 news…
Reckitt to make Mucinex in North Carolina
Reckitt Benckiser Group announced today that it is expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint by acquiring a 310,000 ft² pharmaceutical site in Wilson, North Carolina. The Slough, U.K.–based company said it will invest £155 million ($200 million) to establish a manufacturing facility in Wilson to produce Mucinex tablets and liquids to meet increased U.S. demand. Reckitt…
GE HealthCare to fully own Nihon Medi-Physics
GE HealthCare (Nasdaq:GEHC) announced today that it will acquire the remaining 50% stake in Nihon Medi-Physics, enabling it to fully own the Japanese radiopharmaceutical company. The purchase from Sumitomo Chemical is expected to close in early 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. GE HealthCare has already owned a…
Sanofi to invest €40 million to boost antibody production in France
Sanofi recently announced that it is investing €40 million in its Lyon Gerland bioproduction site as it seeks to bolster its position in the immunology space. The investment will support production in France of the transplant drug Thymoglubulin, including €25 million toward developing and manufacturing a second-generation version of the drug. The remaining €15 million…
How biometric ID is boosting security and efficiency in pharma manufacturing
A maker of pharma manufacturing workstations says wearable biometric ID products are solving a security and efficiency challenge. Traditionally, pharmaceutical manufacturers have used a complex patchwork of access points, workstations, and tools, according to Fremont, California–based Arista Corp. Think badges, passwords and more, with the potential for someone other than the intended operator to gain…
Otsuka partners with ICU Medical to enter U.S. IV products market
Otsuka Holdings will pay ICU Medical (Nasdaq: ICUI) an upfront payment of $200 million as part of a joint venture to enter the U.S. IV products market, which has been facing hurricane-related shortages this fall. The partnership — which involves ICU Medical providing commercial services for Otsuka’s Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory (OPF) subsidiary — also includes…
Baxter exits China IV products market, focuses on U.S. shortages
Baxter recently stopped selling IV products in China as it continues its efforts to address hurricane-related supply shortages in the U.S. In a statement shared with Pharmaceutical Processing World, the Deerfield, Illinois–based company said: “After careful consideration, and given the numerous alternative IV solution suppliers that exist in the Chinese market, Baxter has suspended commercial…
Lilly expands manufacturing footprint in Ireland
Eli Lilly and Co. recently announced that it’s spending $1 billion to expand its Limerick, Ireland, manufacturing site. The goal of the expansion, announced Sept. 12, is to increase the production of biologic active ingredients, including those for the company’s recently approved treatment for early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. The company announced in July that the…
Emergent presents its smallpox vaccine as a shield against mpox in Africa
Emergent BioSolutions says it will donate 50,000 doses of its ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine to help against the mpox outbreak in Africa. According to Emergent, the FDA is presently reviewing a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to expand ACAM2000’s indication to include mpox immunization. The company expects the FDA to complete its review in the third…