Pharma manufacturing news in brief
pharmafile | October 25, 2011 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | pharma manufacturing news
Patheon wins a new contract from Boehringer Ingelheim, Ferring buys a UK plant, plus updates from InvaGen, CrossJect and contract manufacturer Hovione.
Pharmaceutical services company Patheon has been awarded a three-year contract worth more than $18 million from German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. The contract covers two projects, both of centre on drugs for treating type II diabetes, and involve “formulating, scaling and successfully launching complex formulations”, according to Mark Kontny, Patheon’s chief scientific officer. Further details were not disclosed.
Swiss drugmaker Ferring Pharmaceuticals has bought US specialty biopharmaceutical company CytoKine PharmaSciences, including its UK-based manufacturing unit Controlled Therapeutics Ltd, for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes an East Kilbride development and manufacturing facility which employs round 65 people and produces a dinoprostone controlled release insert for obstetric applications.
US generic drugmaker InvaGen Pharmaceuticals has said it plans to invest $39 million to expand its operations in Long Island, New York, creating 350 new jobs and retaining 330 current employees over the next five years. The investment programme is backed with around $3.8 million in state subsidies and tax concessions. The new 250,000 sq. ft. location will accommodate the company’s “growing need for expanded manufacturing and research and development space”, said InvaGen.
A needle-free injection system developed by French company CrossJect has cleared initial testing and could be on the market in 2014, according to the EU’s Eureka network which provided funding for the project. The device, called the Zeneo, is a prefilled, single-use injector that uses a gas propulsion system to fire drugs through the skin. It can be calibrated for intradermal, subcutaneous and intramuscular injections. Commercial supplies will be made by Austrian company Hirtenburger.
Portuguese contract manufacturing organisation Hovione has formed an alliance with Bend Research of the USA to broaden both companies’ technology and service capabilities. Bend specialises in drug delivery, formulation and engineering services, as well as clinical trial-scale manufacturing, while Hovione brings its commercial-scale manufacturing expertise to the table. The two companies noted that in addition to manufacturing, the alliance will boast broad expertise in many types of specialised formulations, including engineered particles for inhaled delivery.
Phil Taylor
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