Novartis today announced the expansion of its radioligand therapy (RLT) manufacturing capabilities with a new facility in Indianapolis. The Basil, Switzerland–based pharma giant said it has received FDA approval for commercial manufacturing in Indianapolis of its RLT therapy Pluvicto (lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan) to treat advanced metastatic prostate cancer. The new 70,000-square foot facility…
Pfizer’s $3.5B cost-cutting strategy hits Peapack site in New Jersey
After news emerged regarding Pfizer’s plans to close sites in North Carolina, the company is adding New Jersey to the list. The company expects its Peapack facility to cease operations in early 2024. A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification(WARN) Notice notes that 791 workers could potentially be cut from its Somerset County corporate office. The…
FDA resolves drug shortage for Novartis’ prostate cancer drug Pluvicto
Novartis has announced that the FDA has resolved the drug shortage status for Pluvicto (lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan). The development comes after Novartis significantly scaled up production, more than doubling its weekly production capacity since May. The company initially halted production of Pluvicto (lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan) along with Lutathera (USAN: lutetium Lu…
Major pharma players ST Pharm, Astellas and Celltrion unveil ambitious expansion blueprints
A handful of pharma companies, including ST Pharm, Astellas Pharma, Avalon Pharma, and Celltrion have recently announced expansion projects. Major pharma expansion efforts underway in South Korea South Korean CDMO firm ST Pharm announced a second manufacturing facility in its home country — in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The plant is geared toward supporting burgeoning demand…
Arizona Senator Sinema champions Phoenix Medical Quarter
Arizona has launched the Phoenix Medical Quarter, a 100-acre hub of medical research in midtown Phoenix. Education and patient care are primary objectives for the new hub, which aims to compete with top medical centers worldwide while cementing Arizona’s leadership in biosciences. Independent Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who has championed the state’s healthcare and…
Single-use technologies gain wide adoption in biomanufacturing
With the rise of biologics and personalized medicine, the biopharmaceutical industry is adding single-use technologies (SUTs) to their manufacturing options. Manufacturers are realizing the benefits of being agile, and many are adopting SUTs to turn over smaller batches of new products quickly and efficiently. Single-use technologies use disposable bioprocessing equipment, such as bags and flexible…
Solenis-Diversey deal highlights trend for strategic, sustainability-focused acquisitions
Solenis, a specialty chemicals company serving water-intensive industries, wrapped up its $4.6 billion acquisition of Diversey Holdings, Ltd., a supplier of hygiene, infection prevention, and cleaning products to global pharmaceutical companies. This acquisition comes amid a trend of smaller, more strategic M&A activity in the pharma sector during the second quarter of 2023. While the…
Discover new levels of efficiency in pharma manufacturing with advanced analytics
Digitalization empowers pharmaceutical companies to bring therapies to patients faster by using advanced analytics strategies to profitably optimize manufacturing operations. In the pharmaceutical industry, operational issues from efficiency losses to failed batches can delay delivery of potentially lifesaving therapies to patients. For this and other reasons, pharmaceutical organizations require resources dedicated to batch prediction, planning…
Life sciences single-use instrumentation trends
Single-use instrumentation, especially new pH sensors designed for upstream and downstream applications, are helping manufacturers develop production suites for creating a greater variety of small-run yet highly targeted drugs. Life sciences manufacturers already incorporate leading measurement and automation technologies to ensure the quality of the drugs and medicines they bring to market. Yet because the…
McKinsey has a digital prescription for pharma processing
Given the recent surge in interest in generative AI, it’s no wonder that consultancies like McKinsey are making hay of the situation. The consultancy recently argued that “Rewired pharma companies will win in the digital age.” In a separate feature, it noted that generative AI could boost biopharma R&D productivity by billions, as we reported…