Contract Manufacturing

Contract development and manufacturing organization Lonza has announced a series of expansion projects during the pandemic. Most recently, the Basel-based company revealed plans to expand its drug product manufacturing services on its home turf in Switzerland. Included in the expansion will be an installation of a new aseptic fill and finish line in the city…

The Biden administration reportedly plans to purchase and share with the world hundreds of millions of doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. The Washington Post reported today that the U.S. has plans to make another large purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, although details of the deal have not been made clear. Neither the White House nor Pfizer…

Catalent announced today that it entered into a commercial supply agreement with Phathom Pharmaceuticals for its acid blocker. The commercial supply agreement covers Phathom’s lead compound, vonoprazan, which is a novel, orally active-potassium competitive acid blocker (P-CAB) for treating gastrointestinal diseases, according to a news release. Phathom currently has vonoprazan in late clinical-stage development for…

While mRNA vaccines from Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) had 95% efficacy in Phase 3 clinical trials, their effectiveness in the real world has dropped with the rise of the Delta variant.  As a result, breakthrough infections have grown more common in people who have received two doses of mRNA vaccines. Ultimately, full vaccination may require…

Curia, formerly known as AMRI, recently announced that it has completed its acquisition of LakePharma, a biologics drug discovery, clinical research, development and manufacturing organization. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. LakePharma has operations in California, Massachusetts and Texas. The acquisition will enable Albany, N.Y.–based Curia to offer expertise in both large…

Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) has been on something of a spending spree during the pandemic. Looking to bolster its nutraceutical business, the company announced it would acquire Plano, Texas–based Bettera Holdings LLC for $1 billion. Bettera specializes in gummy, soft chew and lozenge products within nutritional supplements. Also this year, Catalent has acquired RheinCell Therapeutics, which develops induced…

Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) will become the anchor tenant in a new facility from Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand (COD) in Burlington, Mass. Cambridge, Mass.–based Moderna has seen its business skyrocket in the past year. Its sales growth in the second quarter of the year grew 6,399% compared with Q2 2020. “As Moderna grows at an accelerated pace,…

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) announced that it extended agreements with CVS Health over pharmaceutical distribution. The agreements for the distribution of pharmaceuticals to retail pharmacies and distribution centers run through June 30, 2027, according to a news release. “We value our long-standing partnership with CVS Health, and we are honored to continue our important work together…

Aphena Pharma Solutions has announced the launch of a Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Division at its campus in Cookeville, Tenn. The pharmaceutical packaging and manufacturing company plans to complete the new division by the end of the year and serve new clients in early 2022. The 3PL unit will cater to the prescription pharmaceutical market, focusing…

The partnership between Aldevron (Fargo, N.D.) and Ginkgo Bioworks (Boston) has resulted in an improvement in the manufacturing yield of the vaccinia capping enzyme (VCE). VCEs are often used in the production of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. The new production protocol is more than 10 times more efficient than the prior process, according to a…