Facility

The U.K. government has put a manufacturing plant up for sale that was instrumental in the country’s plan to battle future pandemics. According to The Financial Times, the plant, dubbed the Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre (VMIC), had received at least £215 million of public funding since it was launched in 2018. A handful of companies…

Life science products like pharmaceuticals, biologics and biosimilars that feature active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) require the safe, efficient, contamination-free, i.e., “aseptic,” handling of raw materials and finished products. Maintaining a sterile production process demands that all components used in a cleanroom or isolator be kept contaminant-free. Beta bags play a critical role in this process,…

While COVID-19 has led to an uptick in remote inspections and virtual training, Avatour was working on its remote presence platform before the pandemic. The San Francisco startup’s CEO, Devon Copley, was the head of product, VR platform for Nokia from 2015 to 2017, where he was involved in creating a novel Nokia OZO 360°…

Advanced Energy (NSDQ:AEIS) has introduced the TEGAMLink T2.0 mobile app, which works with the company’s TEGAM 930 Series Bluetooth thermometers for pharmaceutical and food safety applications. The app supports the streaming and recording of temperature data from production-floor equipment to programs and quality management systems. A Touch Entry keyboard extension supports automation capability for companies…

As the pendulum of vaccinating the world against COVID-19 begins to swing to developing countries, Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) will build an mRNA facility in Africa that could produce as many as 500 million 50-µg vaccine doses annually. Its currently authorized booster has a 100-µg dose of mRNA, but the company aims to use a 50-µg dose…

Electrical actuator and flow-control firm ProMation Engineering has hired Tom Wayer as a national sales manager. The company can provide custom flow-control products to meet customer-specific needs for various industries, including pharmaceutical manufacturers. Brooksville, Florida–based ProMation also serves the chemical processing industry. Wayer has experience selling equipment, systems and entire projects with actuators, valves, pumps,…

Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON) will integrate manufacturing execution system (MES) software offerings from Performix Inc. into its portfolio of offerings for life science companies. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Houston, Texas–based Performix specializes in creating MES software for pharma and biotech companies. The company also has an office in Pune, India. Late last year, Honeywell…

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…

Steris has launched the next generation of its vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) biodecontamination systems to achieve 6-log bioburden reduction in good-manufacturing-practice pharmaceutical, medical device and research environments. It’s possible to integrate the new VHP 100i and 1000i systems into a facility’s building automation and HVAC systems, running a decontamination cycle at programmed intervals or at…

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…