Deals, Development and Manufacturing

A new partnership is aiming to advance the use of sublingual delivery technology for challenging drugs.

The companies will develop a new generation of biotherapeutics from cell-line development through to GMP manufacturing.

Cegedim, has announced that it is collaborating with Sanofi to deliver real-world data for the improvement of health within Europe.

Medherant has announced that it is the recipient of a new £2-million (US$2.5-million) investment from Mercia Technologies.

WHP has been awarded with the design contract for the United Kingdom’s first dedicated vaccines manufacturing innovation center (VMIC).

A “Darwinian” drug discovery program aimed at tackling cancer’s ability to develop drug resistance will launch in a new center based in London, United Kingdom.

A CPhI Middle East & Africa (MEA) expert has forecasted a boom in manufacturing in the region and has expectations that within five years some of the industry will be acting as contract manufacturers for the European market.

Locate Bio has been granted additional investment to the tune of £2 million (US$2.6 million) for the expansion of its cell and gene therapy pipeline.

The partnership will focus on the commercialization of inducible promoters to improve biomanufacturing.

The acquisition provides Valby, Denmark-based Lundbeck with a discovery platform and a US-based research hub.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded grants totaling $41.6 million to establish four cooperative research centers focused on developing vaccines to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The acquisition will expand Pfizer’s rare disease portfolio with an early pipeline candidate for treating dwarfism.

The UK government announced during the ABPI’s recent conference that it is making improvements to the Accelerated Access Collaborative.

A UK-based company, Atelerix, has revealed that it has closed a second round of funding worth £700,000 (US$911,000).

Shakespeare Martineau, a law firm, announced that advisers from the firm have assisted Bermele with a capital-raising move worth £1 million (US $1.3 million).

Vibalogics has increased its single-use bioreactor and purification capacity with a new manufacturing for its specialist oncolytic virus and viral vector manufacturing services as a result of a growth in demand.

Research Point Global and WuXi Clinical Development Services have revealed that they are to combine and rebrand as a new CRO, WuXi Clinical.

Dyadic International has announced its collaboration agreement with Serum Institute of India for the development and manufacture of up to 12 antibodies and vaccines using Dyadic’s C1 gene expression system.

Novartis will acquire assets associated with Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ Xiidra (lifitegrast ophthalmic solution) 5%, an eye-care drug.

Lonza will provide development and manufacturing services to two of Alector’s neurodegeneration drug candidates.

AbCellera, Niaid Vaccine Research Center, and Ichor Medical Systems have formed a partnership to develop an end-to-end platform capable of developing field-ready, nucleic acid-based countermeasures against a pandemic strain of influenza.

Samsung BioLogics will provide contract development organization services to drug developer GI Innovation.

The companies have entered into a sub-licensing agreement to develop products based on Dyadic’s C1 expression platform and Alphazymes’ enzyme technology.

The companies will work together to develop observational research analytics to assess treatment outcomes for areas of unmet need in oncology.

MilliporeSigma event scheduled to recognize biotech challenges and support development potential.

In collaboration with Pall Corportion, biotech company Freeline completed the first full-scale run at its newly commissioned, GMP gene-therapy manufacturing facility in the UK.

NHS England and three pharma companies have agreed to work together to find and cure tens of thousands more people with hepatitis C, potentially leading to Britain becoming the first country to eliminate the virus.

The companies will join forces to use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to discover and develop new treatments for two chronic diseases.

Intertek has announced the expansion of its pharmaceutical services laboratory in Melbourn, near Cambridge, UK, through the acquisition of a new 20,000 sq. ft facility.

The company passed a seven-day FDA surveillance GMP inspection and announced two upcoming manufacturing partnerships.