Pharma manufacturing news in brief
pharmafile | March 10, 2010 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â Atacama Labs, Dishman, Excella, Mentor Worldwide, Next Pharma, SAFC Pharma, Stirling Products, Strides Arcolab, Watson Pharma, undefinedÂ
A round-up of pharma manufacturing developments from Strides Arcolab, Stirling Products, NextPharma, Atacama Labs, Excella, Dishman, SAFC Pharma, Watson Pharmaceutical and Mentor Worldwide.
Indian generic drugmaker Strides Arcolab is planning to buy a manufacturing facility in Brazil operated by South Africa-based Aspen Pharmacare for $75 million. The Campos plant, which currently specialises in antibiotics such as penems and penicillins, will be used to raise Strides’ production capacity for a range of specialty injectable pharmaceuticals. The Indian firm expects the plant to provide revenues of around $40 million a year.
Australia’s Stirling Products has bought a manufacturing facility in Cape Breton, Canada, following the financial collapse of its former owner, an unnamed pharmaceutical company. Stirling will pay C$3.6 million for the 10,600 sq. ft. facility, which has a book value of $20 million and includes laboratory, manufacturing and packaging units. The Australian firm says it will use the plant to make its own products as well as for third-party contract manufacturing.
Finland’s Atacama Labs Oy and German company Excella GmbH have joined forces to provide pneumatic drug granulation (PDG) granule and tablet manufacturing services to companies in the pharmaceutical sector. The PDG technology is intended as an alternative to wet granulation or roller compaction processes that can handle a broader range of active pharmaceutical ingredients, speed up development times and reduce costs.
Companies paying corporation tax in France will be able to claim tax credits for work subcontracted to manufacturing and development services company NextPharma under a new scheme operated by the country’s Ministry of Research. The accreditation applies to activities carried out at NextPharma’s Sterile Product Development Centre in Braine-l’Alleud, Belgium.
A $10 million greenfield manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China, constructed for Indian company Dishman Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, is due to open in the third quarter of this year. The project is running almost a year behind schedule. The unit will make intermediates and quaternary compounds for pharmaceutical clients in Europe and Asia.
SAFC Pharma will start manufacturing at a new high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredient (HPAPI) facility in Madison, Wisconsin, next month, according to an article in the Wisconsin State Journal. The company announced the $31 million expansion plan for Madison, which involves the construction of a new 51,000 sq. ft. facility in Verona near its existing HPAPI unit, in 2008.
US company Watson Pharmaceuticals said it intends to sell its 31% holding in contract manufacturer ScinoPharm Taiwan for $94 million because the relationship between the two companies has become “less strategic for … long-term growth”. Watson has been expanding its own capabilities in developing and manufacturing APIs, said chief executive Paul Bisaro. The stake is being bought by Taiwanese food giant Uni-President Enterprises Corp.
Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Mentor Worldwide LLC has donated a $16 million pharmaceutical production facility to the newly-formed Morgridge Institute for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. The 37,000 sq. ft. plant will be used by the non-profit institute to help transition new therapies from the lab into clinical testing and commercial production. Morgridge focuses on regenerative biology, virology, medical devices, pharmaceutical informatics, and health education.
Related Content
J&J breast implants “may have harmed thousands”, claims fresh lawsuit
Mentor Worldwide, a unit of US pharma firm Johnson & Johnson, has been accused of …
Pfizer pays $63m for generics portfolio
Pfizer has bolstered its generics portfolio, paying around $63 million for 22 drugs. The company …
Pharma manufacturing news in brief
This week’s round-up of pharmaceutical manufacturing news includes a recall for Fresenius Kabi, facility updates …
