Pharma manufacturing news in brief
pharmafile | May 22, 2012 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â Codexis, IPEC, Novozymes Biopharma, SGS International, VetterÂ
Excipients trade body IPEC will set up a branch in India next month, plus updates for Codexis, SGS International, Vetter and Novozymes Biopharma.
An Indian branch of the International Pharmaceutical Excipients Council (IPEC) will be set up next month alongside existing organisations in Europe, the Americas, Japan and China, according to umbrella group the IPEC Federation. IPEC India will be based in Mumbai and will be chaired by Ajit Singh of ACG Worldwide, claimed to be the second largest producer of empty hard capsules in the world. Like all the IPECs, the Indian branch will represent both manufacturers and users of pharmaceutical excipients.
Catalyst specialist Codexis has been awarded a US patent covering biocatalysts and biocatalytic processes used to formulate key pharmaceutical intermediates in the synthesis of a class of hepatitis C therapeutics known as fused bicyclic prolines. The class includes compounds such as Merck & Co’s NS3 protease inhibitor Victrelis (boceprevir). Codexis’ prototype enzyme-based manufacturing method for Victrelis was published recently in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Packaging artwork group SGS International has set up a new office in Hull, UK, that will become a hub for an expansion of its business into the pharmaceutical sector. The unit employs 150 people and was officially opened last week. The UK office’s main client is Procter & Gamble, which recently expanded its contract with SGS to include products across its personal care, pet and healthcare product ranges, and also works with Shire, according to a Packaging News report.
Contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Vetter has opened a €35 million centre for visual inspection and logistics in Ravensburg, Germany, that will employ up to 400 employees. The facility will provide warehousing, logistics and distribution services for cold chain and room temperature products and tap into increasing demand among the pharma and biotech industries for “safer and more efficient supply chain processes”. Vetter specialises in the aseptic filling of syringes, cartridges and vials.
Novozymes Biopharma has started shipping commercial quantities of its Hyasis brand of hyaluronic acid, made at a new manufacturing facility in China, to customers in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. The material is made to active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) standards of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) via a bacillus-based process that removes the risks associated with rival products, such as contamination with viruses or other impurities such as endotoxins.
Phil Taylor
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