Facility

The chemicals and materials specialist Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) has acquired RIM Bio, a China-based manufacturer of single-use bioprocess bags and assemblies for biopharmaceutical applications. The acquisition gives Avantor its first single-use production facility in Asia and doubles its global single-use cleanroom space. Avantor also has single-use manufacturing facilities in the Americas and Europe.  The RIM Bio…

Industrial equipment provider Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR) has launched its MSG Turbo-Air NX5000 centrifugal compressor. The company says the compressor provides industry-leading efficiency at a relatively low cost of ownership and that it offers 5% better energy efficiency than legacy systems. The compressed air system is rated for powers from 600 to 4,200 kW (800–5,650…

In an SEC filing, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY.N) revealed that it had received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice connected to a manufacturing site in New Jersey that produces bamlanivimab, one of two COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies it produces. The plant also produces the blockbuster Trulicity and cancer drugs. Lilly did not state which types…

Johnson & Johnson will cut COVID-19 vaccine shipments by 86% in the coming week, according to CDC projections. The week of April 5, the company shipped nearly 5 million doses. Next week, that figure could fall to approximately 700,000.  The company anticipates that it can eventually deliver up to 8 million doses weekly, assuming FDA authorizes…

A combination of digital tools, improved production equipment, and advanced instrumentation helped COVID-19 vaccines to roll out in record time. Ben Arriola and Zach Blum, Emerson There is little doubt that researchers will study the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects from countless angles in the decades to come. Few events in modern times have had…

The pharmaceutical industry is warming to the concept of smart manufacturing — and predictive maintenance in particular. The reason for that trend is partly financial. A single hour of downtime can potentially cost millions of dollars in lost productivity, and predictive maintenance promises to make maintenance more efficient and effective. One traditional barrier to predictive…

A former FDA inspector accused the agency of downplaying safety problems at a Merck plant tapped to manufacture Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine.  The whistleblower alleged that a 2018 inspection uncovered evidence that employees in the facility in Durham, N.C. engaged in a host of unsanitary practices. A letter to President Biden from the U.S.…

BioNTech has won approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine Marburg, Germany–based facility. BioNTech will produce mRNA at the site, an instrumental component of the Comirnaty (BNT162b2) vaccine it jointly developed with Pfizer. The manufacturing for the vaccine process requires approximately 50,000 steps, which spans mRNA synthesis and manufacture of…

In a complaint filed in Illinois federal court, AbbVie alleges that the Icelandic biopharma company Alvotech sought to copy its rheumatoid arthritis blockbuster biologic Humira (adalimumab).  The lawsuit accuses Alvotech of hiring a former AbbVie employee, Rongzan Ho, to help it develop a copycat version of Humira.  Ho, a team leader of upstream manufacturing for…

Coding, marking and printing specialist Videojet Technologies has introduced its Videojet 1880 continuous inkjet printer. The printer includes digital features to detect potential problems that can result in manufacturing downtime. The MAXIMiZE diagnostics platform analyzes printer health and performance patterns to signal if a fault is likely to occur. In the event of a possible…