Thermo Fisher set to build $180m viral vector site 18-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves The site will be responsible for commercial manufacturing and will double the company’s viral vector capacity.
US outlines plan for readying coronavirus vaccine by start of 2021 18-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves The US government provided details on ‘Operation Warp Speed’ and who will take leadership of the project.
FDA refuses to file BMS treatment over manufacturing concerns 14-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves US FDA knocks back BMS and bluebird’s application for ide-cel, demanding further details on CMC portion of BLA.
Biotech launches to create ‘rationally’ designed gene therapy 14-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Kriya Therapeutics launches publicly after raising $80.5m in financing, with three gene therapies in the pipeline.
US strikes $138m deal to ensure enough syringes for COVID-19 vaccine 13-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves US HHS provides funding in order to boost the number of prefilled syringes available for potential vaccine against coronavirus.
Pfizer to outsource brand products, making space for COVID-19 vaccine 12-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Pfizer looks to outsource more of its vaccine and intravenous drugs to free up capacity for potential COVID-19 vaccine.
Novavax receives record $388m funding for COVID-19 vaccine 12-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves CEPI awards Novavax highest investment to date, with the biotech progressing candidate into trials and partners with Emergent for production.
Pfizer and BioNTech work to scale up COVID-19 vaccine production 11-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Pfizer identifies four facilities globally to produce vaccine, while BioNTech will increase production at its German facilities.
Regeneron devotes New York facility to COVID-19 cocktail treatment 11-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Regeneron expects an antibody cocktail against coronavirus to be ready for trials in June, plans to utilize entire facility for production.
How to prevent another COVID-19? ‘Invest in infrastructure’ 06-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves CEO of Berkeley Lights talks about the company’s work to identify antibodies against COVID-19 and what the long-term picture looks like.
Lonza and Moderna shoot for billion COVID-19 vaccine doses 05-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Moderna announces it has partnered with Lonza with the aim of producing one billion doses annually.
Ajinomoto to produce potential COVID-19 treatment for CytoDyn 05-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Ajinomoto agrees partnership to manufacture leronlimab, which is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19.
Pfizer’s $308m buy-in for Lyme disease vaccine 04-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Pfizer partners with Valneva to progress Phase II-stage vaccine candidate for Lyme disease.
Immunomedics closes $459m stock offering to launch drug, scale manufacture 04-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves April saw the company add new CEO, receive approval for lead ADC drug, and launch a public offering of stock.
COVID-19 vaccine in one year ‘wishful thinking’ 04-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves The likelihood of an effective vaccine being developed and scaled up in less than 12 months is unrealistic, suggests GlobalData analyst.
Catalent takes on manufacture of J&J’s coronavirus vaccine 30-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Catalent announces partnership with J&J to manufacture lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate, plans to hire 300 staff and manufacture 24/7.
AZ and Oxford University partner to develop coronavirus vaccine 30-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Under the agreement, AZ will develop, manufacture and distribute the vaccine that has already begun Phase I trials.
World leaders work on $8bn vaccine fund effort 28-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves The WHO and world leaders commit to a fund to accelerate development of vaccines, tests and treatments for COVID-19.
AskBio buys BrainVectis for early-stage gene therapies 27-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves AskBio acquires gene therapy biotech working on treatments for neurodegenerative disorders.
Takeda agrees license to strengthen plasma pipeline 27-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Takeda in global licensing agreement with ProThera to develop plasma-based therapies for inflammatory conditions.
J&J strikes CDMO deal to add capacity for COVID-19 vaccine 27-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves J&J agrees a manufacturing partnership with Emergent, as it looks to hit its target of one billion doses.
Mogrify and Sangamo in license agreement for ‘off-the-shelf’ CAR-Treg 23-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Sangamo plans to utilize Mogrify’s cell conversion technology to develop CAR-Treg cell therapies.
Regeneron’s Ebola treatment given US priority review 21-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Regeneron’s triple antibody treatment for the Ebola virus has been provided US FDA priority review to speed regulatory action.
LNC Therapeutics acquires rights to develop Christensenella-based therapy for mood disorders 21-Apr-2020 By Will Chu French biotech firm LNC Therapeutics is to enter into a licence agreement with the University of Valencia for a patent outlining the Christensenella gut bacteria's role in addressing mood disorders.
Manufacturing alliance set to scale Oxford University coronavirus vaccine 20-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Halix joins a consortium to produce Oxford University’s vaccine, after first patient enrolled to clinical trial.
UK forms COVID taskforce to bring vaccine to public 20-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves UK government brings together AZ, BIA and Wellcome to speed up clinical trials and scale manufacturing of potential vaccines.
BARDA awards $483m to scale production of Moderna’s COVID vaccine 17-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves With recruitment for Phase I trials complete, Moderna receives funds to expand manufacturing capacity ready for late-stage trials.
‘No company can go it alone’: GSK and Sanofi partner against coronavirus 15-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Two of the largest companies in the pharma industry, and specialists in developing vaccines, pool resources to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.
Takeda taps Evotec for gene therapy discovery 14-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Looking to expand its pipeline of gene therapies, Takeda announces a long-term research partnership with Evotec.
Vir continues to build production for COVID-19 antibody 14-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves In its latest manufacturing partnership, Vir announces that it will work with Samsung Biologics for large-scale production.
Pfizer and BioNTech preparing ‘millions’ of COVID mRNA vaccines 14-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Pfizer and BioNTech provide further details on their work against COVID-19, including clinical trial plans and scaling of manufacture.
ElevateBio closes $170m Series B financing round 09-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves The accelerator for cell and gene therapy startups reveals the closure of its second financing round and how the funds will be used.
GSK and Vir launch collaboration on coronavirus 07-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves In two separate announcements, GSK unveils that it will partner with Vir to combat COVID-19, as well as investing in the biotech.
Servier acquires Symphogen to pick up oncology pipeline 07-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Servier buy outs its former partner to bolster its antibody discovery and development capabilities within oncology.
Gilead agrees microbiome deal with Second Genome 07-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Gilead announces partnership to identify microbiome biomarkers associated with a clinical response in compounds within its portfolio.
J&J signs deal with Fate for off-the-shelf immunotherapies 06-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Fate Therapeutics and J&J will collaborate to progress candidates against four tumor-associated antigens.
FDA looks to accelerate plasma therapies for coronavirus 06-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves US FDA looks to coordinate and speed up the development of blood-derived therapies to treat patients with COVID-19.
Daiichi pays $225m to access gene therapy production platform 06-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Daiichi partners with Ultragenyx to utilize its HeLa producer cell line platform for commercial-scale gene therapy production.
Arch Venture raises $1.4bn fund to spur ‘healthcare revolution’ 02-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Arch Venture announces that it raised the sum across two funds, with the capital earmarked for early stage biotechs.
Avectas partners with Vycellix to speed cell therapy production 31-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves The partners will combine expertise to progress the novel RNA immunomodulator, VY-M.
Latest industry developments against COVID-19 30-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves In the face of the threat from the novel coronavirus, industry momentum is gathering to produce a solution.
J&J chooses lead coronavirus candidate, sets up manufacturing for 1 billion doses 30-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves The company provides update on its coronavirus plans, which includes $1bn in funding to research and expected Phase I trial commencement date.
Takeda taps Evox for exosome therapeutics 30-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves The partners will focus on developing five potential exosome treatment for rare diseases.
Gates Foundation in ‘unprecedented’ coronavirus partnership with industry 26-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves ‘Collective action is critical,’ says Novartis CEO on industry partnership with Gates Foundation to accelerate treatments for COVID-19.
Astellas and CytomX team up to target solid tumors with T-cells 26-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves The two partners will work to develop clinical candidates for the treatment of cancer.
Roche ups Actemra production anticipating increased demand 25-Mar-2020 By Vassia Barba Roche looks to maximize production of its arthritis treatment as the drug enters late-stage trials to evaluate its effectiveness against COVID-19.
CGTC in ‘third phase’ expansion of cell and gene manufacturing site 20-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves CGTC will add seven laboratories to its manufacture site in the UK, with most of the work taking place off-site.
Roche’s treatment for coronavirus enters Phase III 19-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves Roche looks to repurpose its arthritis medicine for use against the coronavirus, after China previously endorsed its use.
Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine enters Phase I, ‘accelerates’ manufacturing capabilities 17-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves A vaccine for the virus has reached first-in-man stage, as companies race to find a solution to the global crisis.
Pipeline of cell and gene therapies expands by 25% 16-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves During the course of just one year, the US pipeline of cell and gene therapies has developed rapidly, as approvals increase.