Pharma manufacturing news in brief
pharmafile | November 6, 2012 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â Cytovance, DSM, Insipiration, Neolpharma, Paranta, PatheonÂ
A round up of recent pharma manufacturing news, including an Ipsen/Inspiration facility up for sale, new contracts for Patheon, Cytovance and DSM plus the sale of a Pfizer plant in Puerto Rico.
Patheon has been awarded a contract by Swedish drugmaker Pharmalink for the development and manufacturing of Nefecon (PL-56) , an enteric formulation of a locally-acting corticosteroid in development as a treatment for IgA nephropathy. The disease is the most common form of primary glomerulonephritis and a leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), according to Pharmalink. Patheon announced the deal shortly after disclosing a $255m acquisition of capsule specialist Banner Pharmacaps.
A manufacturing facility operated by Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals in Boston, US, is up for sale after its owner filed for bankruptcy protection. The facility was set up with the support of French drugmaker Ipsen, Inspiration’s development partner for haemophilia A drug candidate OBI-1. Ipsen said it had agreed to include the commercial rights to OBI-1 and the facility in Milford in the proposed asset sale.
Cytovance Biologics has signed a deal with Taiwan’s Fountain BioPharma for the manufacturing of the latter’s lead product FB301, an anti-IgE monoclonal antibody in development as a treatment for allergies. Under the contract, Cytovance will carry out development work on FB301 at its process development and analytical laboratories and manufacture at its 44,000 sq. ft. production facility in Oklahoma City, US.
DSM Pharmaceutical Products has won a contract from Australian company Paranta Biosciences for the development and production of recombinant follistatin, the firm’s lead drug candidate which is still in preclinical development. The contract is one of the first to be signed for DSM’s 70,000 sq. ft. mammalian biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Brisbane, which is due to open next year and has been built with an investment of $65 million.
Pfizer has sold off a plant in Caguas, Puerto Rico, to Mexican generic drugmaker Neolpharma, which says it will retain the 130 people working there and may add to the headcount. The plant is one of three earmarked for sale in Puerto Rico by Pfizer earlier this year. A second – in Carolina – specialises in the manufacture of injectable drugs and remains on the block, while a third in Fajardo was sold to Galen Holdings in May.
Phil Taylor
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