Pharma manufacturing news in brief
pharmafile | August 20, 2012 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Sales and Marketing | Cambrex, GSK, Laureate, Morphotek
GlaxoSmithKline says it has shut down one of its two manufacturing facilities in India after offering all workers there early retirement, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The facility in Thane, Maharashtra – located around 35km north of Mumbai – was involved in the production of bulk drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), according to GSK’s website. It had been in operation since the early 1960s and made products such as betamethasone and senna glycosides.
Cambrex has won a contract to supply the API for an undisclosed drug scheduled to go into Phase III trials in 2013. The contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) is staying tight-lipped about the identity of the client, but said it expects to earn around $20 million in revenues from the deal next year. The contract has also prompted the company to embark on a $19 million expansion of its commercial-scale manufacturing capacity.
China’s Biostar Pharmaceuticals has been given a green light from the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) to resume shipping of products made in gelatin capsules after passing an inspection. The company became embroiled in a national scandal involving chromium contamination of gelatin capsules, which led to suspension of sales affecting more than 250 companies across China. Biostar makes various prescription and OTC pharmaceuticals, as well as traditional Chinese medicinal products.
Eisai subsidiary Morphotek says it is ready to start preliminary production at a new 60,000 sq. ft. pilot-scale plant in Exton, near Philadelphia in the US, before the end of the year. The $80 million plant will be used to make various Morphotek monoclonal antibodies that are heading for early-stage clinical testing, removing its reliance on contract manufacturing partners. It will employ 23 staff at the outset, with the potential to expand to 90 workers at full capacity.
CMO Laureate Biopharma says it has completed process development and manufactured the first batch of a new therapeutic for ischaemic stroke in development at ZZ Biotech. The drug – called 3K3A-APC – has just started Phase I testing and is a form of activated human Protein C whose molecular structure has been modified to remove the undesirable side effect of bleeding.
Phil Taylor
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