Three for Friday: Facility news from CSL, Kiadis and ADC Bio
We start in Australia at a new CSL Behring manufacturing plant for albumin, a protein derived from human plasma. The facility in Broadmeadows, Melbourne, has been constructed in two parts, with the first module opening yesterday.
The AUD$230m ($173m) plant will add around 100 tonnes of albumin to CSL’s annual global capacity, with a further 100 tonnes being added when the second module comes online. The product will be exported to global markets.
The investment is site is expected to generate up to 200 new jobs over the next eight years.
Kiadis
To Amsterdam next, and cell therapy developer Kiadis Pharma has leased an existing commercial manufacturing facility to bolster its in-house capabilities, enhance flexibility and expand capacity.
The lease will also help the firm prep to file and launch its lead candidate ATIR101 as an adjunctive treatment to blood stem cell transplantation in adult patients with blood cancer.
“As we continue to prepare for European launch in 2019, this provides Kiadis with a unique opportunity to obtain access to a recently established state-of-the-art commercial manufacturing facility in Amsterdam without spending capital and time on a construction project,” said CEO Arthur Lahr.
“Also, we can now locate all our activities at a single site.”
ADC Bio
And finally, UK-based processing tech provider ADC Biotechnology has signed an agreement with multi-disciplined engineering specialists, WHP, signalling the start of construction on an $11m dedicated bioconjugation facility at a site in Deeside, North Wales.
The planned facility, first announced in September, will help supply antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for human clinical trials and was driven by demand from its global clients.
“We are delighted to have forged this agreement with WHP. We specifically selected them as we found that their established reputation and industry recognition for high-quality design and construction of integrated systems and cleanroom technology – specifically within the Biotechnology sector – made them the best fit for our needs,” said Charlie Johnson, CEO of ADC Bio.
The facility is expected to be operational in September 2018.
