Pharma manufacturing news in brief
pharmafile | July 10, 2012 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â Aesica, Affymax, DPT Labs, HAL Allergy BVÂ
Recruitment drive starts at Aesica, Affymax names a new manufacturing head, plus updates from NeoStem, DPT Labs and HAL Allergy.
UK contract manufacturer Aesica says it plans to create up to 100 new jobs at its Queenborough facility in Kent by 2015 as part of an expansion programme at the site. The firm says the jobs be created during a phased recruitment drive, which will begin in the next couple of months, with half of the posts filled in the run up to the expansion, and the remainder following as the expansion is completed. Last year, fast-growing Aesica bought three manufacturing sites in Germany and Italy from UCB, doubling its workforce, and has said it plans to add manufacturing facilities on both the east and west coasts of the US.
Affymax has promoted Dr Michael Holfinger to the position of vice president of manufacturing and CMC (chemistry, manufacturing and controls) development. He was formerly director, process development and manufacturing, and has been employed at the US biotechnology company since 2006. Affymax won approval for its first commercial product – Omontys (peginesatide) for the treatment of anaemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adult patients on dialysis – in the US in March.
US biotechnology company NeoStem has divested its stake in Chinese firm Suzhou Erye Pharmaceutical Co Ltd in a move that boosts its balance sheet to the tune of around $12.3 million. The deal will help support the firm’s contract development and manufacturing organisation unit as well as the development of its cell therapy products, notably an acute myocardial infarction treatment that is currently in Phase II testing. Meanwhile, the company said it has appointed Martin Schmieg as vice president, corporate development.
Private equity group Renaissance Acquisition Holdings has bought US contract development and manufacturing organisation DPT Laboratories, saying it was attracted by the company’s “world-class reputation in semi-solids and liquids, as well as a sterile business with an outstanding regulatory track record that is poised for significant growth”. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Renaissance said DPT’s headquarters and staff will continue to be located in San Antonio and the current management team will remain in place.
HAL Allergy BV of the Netherlands has been granted approval to extend its Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) activities for clinical batch supply of both recombinant and viral products following an inspection of its facilities in Leiden by the Dutch regulatory authorities. HAL has been developing a contract manufacturing business to complement its operations in the production and marketing of its own range of allergy vaccines and diagnostics.
Phil Taylor
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