Bioreactors

Wuxi Biologics IPO in Hong Kong brings in $511m

16-Jun-2017 By Staff Reporter

Wuxi Biologics (Cayman) Inc. completed a successful IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, raising $511m.

Sanofi outlines €600m biologics manufacturing investment plan

16-Jun-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

Sanofi has said it will spend €600m ($673m) to increase capacity to make biologic drugs over the next three years.

Thermo Fisher opens single-use tech testing centre in UK

14-Jun-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

Thermo Fisher has opened a UK test centre to allow biopharmaceutical industry customers to test single-use production technologies.

Update - BioMarin to hire 50 people at Shanbally

US FDA clears BioMarin to make $380,000-a year Vimizim in Ireland

12-Jun-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

The US FDA has cleared BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. to make the enzyme replacement drug Vimizim (elosulfase alfa) at its plant in Cork, Ireland.

GE Healthcare training facility opens in Ireland’s ‘thriving biopharma’ market

09-Jun-2017 By Flora Southey

The National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) has teamed up with GE Healthcare and opened a single-use focused training facility in Dublin, Ireland. 

Securing single-use systems: SSB opts for blockbuster resins and supplier partnerships

06-Jun-2017 By Dan Stanton

Single-use vendors must address their own supply chains to help overcome end-user challenges, says Sartorius.

Lithuania's Biotechpharma jumps on the 2,000L single-use seed train

30-May-2017 By Dan Stanton

 Lithuanian CDMO Biotechpharma has completed a €15m ($16.7m) expansion adding more than 2,500L of single-use bioreactor capacity.

Merck rolls out cost cutting high density perfusion media

24-May-2017 By Staff reporter

Merck has launched a culture media designed to make perfusion based drug production cheaper.

GE looks to single-use modular BioParks to relieve capacity investment risk

23-May-2017 By Dan Stanton

Incorporating single-use and modular facilities into a vendor run bio-campus could reduce CAPEX spend dilemmas faced by drugmakers says GE Healthcare.

The automation generation: Sartorius integrates analytics tech

19-May-2017 By Flora Southey

Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB) has announced it will combine technologies with US-based cell culture analysers Nova Biomedical, as a result of increased customer demand.

Therachon hires Catalent to make protein dwarfism drug for Ph I trial

19-May-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

Therachon AG has contracted Catalent Biologics to manufacture a candidate protein therapeutic for a rare form of dwarfism.

Boehringer Ingelheim opens Shanghai contract biomanufacturing plant

16-May-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

Boehringer Ingelheim says the biologics plant it opened in Shanghai, China today will cater for customers targeting local and international markets.

Single-use making its mark in India as Stelis teams with MilliporeSigma

16-May-2017 By Dan Stanton

Stelis Biopharma has partnered with Germany’s Merck on a bioprocessing services centre in Bangalore and says single-use systems could kickstart India’s biomanufacturing sector.

Takeda teams with GammaDelta to develop novel cell therapies

12-May-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

Takeda has teamed up with GammaDelta Therapeutics to develop novel T-cell-based therapies in a deal that includes an option to buy the year-old UK biotech.

Irish ayes: Lilly goes ahead with bioproduction expansion, adding 130 jobs

10-May-2017 By Dan Stanton

Eli Lilly has confirmed it will build a three-story biomanufacturing facility at its site in Kinsale three months after rumours the project had been put on hold.

BPI Europe 2017

Cost-cutting oral vaccine tech will make Vaxart less reliant on CMO

04-May-2017 By Dan Stanton

Vaxart says its tablet delivery platform has simplified vaccine production so significantly it may bring manufacturing currently contracted to Lonza back in-house.

update - WHO outlines biosimilarity requirements and inspection plan

WHO plans biosimilar prequalification scheme to increase access to cancer meds

04-May-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

The WHO has announced plans to extend its prequalification scheme to include cancer biosimilars and says it will pressure industry for fairer prices for all biologics.

Latest Avid investment to turn bioreactor capacity up to 11 (thousand litres)

03-May-2017 By Dan Stanton

Avid Bioservices will add multiple MilliporeSigma 2,000L bioreactors at its Californian single-use production plant in an effort to its increase annual revenue to over $100m.

Sartorius launches next-gen bioreactor range and pushes volume up to 2,000L

02-May-2017 By Flora Southey

Satorius Stedim Biotech (SSB) has claimed its new bioreactors allowing in-process cell concentration measurement are an industry first.

DISPATCHES FROM BPI EUROPE 2017

Boehringer Ingelheim upping capacity with €700m mammalian cell culture plant

27-Apr-2017 By Dan Stanton

Boehringer Ingelheim has broken ground on a €700m stainless steel bioproduction facility set to house 135,000L of mammalian cell culture capacity.

United BioPharma selects GE Healthcare’s FlexFactory for Taiwan HIV drug plant

27-Apr-2017 By Flora Southey

United BioPharma Inc. (UBP), with government backing, has selected GE Healthcare’s FlexFactory manufacturing platform for its new facility in Hsinchu Industrial Park, Taiwan.

Thermo Fisher collaborates to establish single-use and automation site in China

27-Apr-2017 By Dan Stanton

Mab-Venture Biopharma has entered a collaboration to establish an antibody development and production plant in China incorporating Thermo Fisher’s single-use bioreactors and SmartFactory automated technology.

BioInvent buys Merck single-use tech to up mAb capacity

21-Apr-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

BioInvent International AB has acquired a range of different single-use bioreactors from Germany’s Merck to up monoclonal antibody (mAb) capacity at its plant in Lund, Sweden.

Sartorius Stedim Biotech announces French government-backed R&D project

21-Apr-2017 By Flora Southey

Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB) has announced a €23m ($24.6m) research and development (R & D) programme with funding from local government bodies La Region Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur and la Metropole Aix-Marseille Provence, France.

Infographic

Hey big vendor... Is bioprocessing consolidation good for the end-user?

19-Apr-2017 By Dan Stanton

Price hikes and lack of innovation, or better buying power and end-to-end services? Experts are split on supplier M&A and its effect on biomanufacturers.

1st Stem Cell Community day in Germany

For stem cells 'the process is the product,' says Pluristem

19-Apr-2017 By Dan Stanton

Manufacturing tweaks have severe effects on the quality and yield of stem cells, says Pluristem which has successfully scaled-up production through a decade of process development evolution.

Fujifilm invests $130m in CDMO business, ups mammlian bioreactor capacity 70%

18-Apr-2017 By Dan Stanton

Fujifilm has invested around $130m into facilities in the US and UK weeks after launching its biopharma CDMO business.

Automation acquisitions 'capture the future of streamline production,' expert

12-Apr-2017 By Dan Stanton

There is a growing trend among vendors to integrate automation technologies into their offerings says a bioprocessing expert, as GE Healthcare invests in its partner Zenith.

GE Healthcare teams with CBMG to develop CAR-T and stem cell production tech

11-Apr-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

GE Healthcare has agreed to help Cellular Biomedicine Group (CBMG) develop CAR-T and stem cell production technologies to support its aim of making 10,000 cancer cell therapies a year. 

Sumitomo Dainippon buys cell therapy processing tech from Hitachi

10-Apr-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd has ordered cell culture technologies from Hitachi as part of its effort to develop a treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

1st Stem Cell Community Day - Hamburg, Germany

Stem cells: Single-use bioreactors and microcarriers can overcome scale-up issues, experts

07-Apr-2017 By Dan Stanton

The only practical way to scale-up volumes of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is by using microcarriers in single-use bioreactors, say scientists from A*STAR and Instituto Superior Técnico.

Dispatches from the 1st Stem Cell Community Day, Hamburg

UK Catapult: QbD and process automation key for making commercial cell therapies

05-Apr-2017 By Dan Stanton

Process automation should be incorporated early when developing large scale cell therapy manufacturing platforms, according to a lead scientist from the UK Catapult.

Emisphere set to benefit as Novo Nordisk pushes oral diabetes pipeline

30-Mar-2017 By Dan Stanton

Novo Nordisk’s focus on developing oral versions of semaglutide and four other diabetes drugs could net drug delivery firm Emisphere over $200m.

'One-litre bioreactor scale currently the maximal for stem cell expansion and differentiation'

Industry needs new bioreactor and monitoring tech for stem cell scale-up, expert

24-Mar-2017 By Dan Stanton

Stem cell therapy developers are lacking production scale-up technologies, says the chair of an upcoming conference bringing industry and academia together to address the problem.

Patheon: Biologics seeds to bloom in 2018 as products shift to commercial

17-Mar-2017 By Dan Stanton

Patheon says it expects to see a surge in biologics revenue in 2018 as products shift from development stage to commercial.

CDMO 3P selected to scale-up microbial production for Aussie biotech

14-Mar-2017 By Dan Stanton

Assuring anaerobic conditions in a fermenter design for aerobic organisms will be key in making Ondek’s Helicobacter pylori-based immunotherapy, says 3P Biopharmaceuticals.

Trailer Park Bios? Germfree wheels out mobile cleanroom to fill production gaps

14-Mar-2017 By Dan Stanton

Florida, US-based aseptic control and biosafety services firm Germfree has launched the latest in its mobile cleanrooms, the Mobile Adaptive Bioproduction Suite.

Russia approves first ever biosimilar of Serono’s MS drug Rebif

03-Mar-2017 By Dani Bancroft

Russia’s Ministry of Health has awarded Biocad marketing authorisation for a biosimilar version of EMD Serono’s Multiple sclerosis drug Rebif (interferon beta-1a).

Fetal attraction? FBS supplier offers price guarantee for 'cell food' mainstay

03-Mar-2017 By Dan Stanton

Lot-to-lot consistency is key for fetal bovine serum (FBS) supply, says Nucleus Biologics which is offering clients stable volumes and prices on its single-sourced serum.

Sanofi and Lonza JV to build 200 person biologics facility in Visp

27-Feb-2017 By Dani Bancroft

Sanofi and Lonza will construct a large-scale mammalian cell culture manufacturing site in Switzerland, with an initial investment of CHF 290m ($288m).

Celltrion's MabThera cleared by EC for autoimmune diseases and cancer

22-Feb-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

The European Commission has approved Celltrion Healthcare’s rituximab biosimilar – Truxima (CT-P10) – for the same autoimmune disease and cancer indications as the reference product.

CRB sister Discovery launches second antibody catalogue

21-Feb-2017 By Dani Bancroft

Cambridge Research Biochemicals (CRB) has launched a second catalogue of research antibodies for academia, pharma and outsourcing firms.

Abzena to make wet-AMD antibody drug candidate for UCL at US plant

21-Feb-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

Abzena Plc has been contracted to make an antibody drug candidate for wet age-related macular degeneration by developers at University College London.

Thermo Fisher bags single-use bioreactor tech partner Finesse

14-Feb-2017 By Dan Stanton

Thermo Fisher Scientific says it is buying Finesse Solutions, its long-term supplier of measurement and control solutions for bioprocessing applications.

Catalent running its biologics business at over 90% capacity

08-Feb-2017 By Dan Stanton

Catalent is struggling to keep up with demand for its biomanufacturing services, but a third production train will open up more capacity from October.

Roche: 'Largest biomanufacturing capacity across the industry' to get bigger

07-Feb-2017 By Dan Stanton

Roche says it will continue to expand its biologics manufacturing capacity while reducing its small molecule network.

Arven installs GE "Cell line agnostic" FlexFactory to grow Turkish biosimilar business

03-Feb-2017 By Dani Bancroft

Arven will use GE Healthcare’s FlexFactory manufacturing platform to increase capacity at its mammalian-cell based bioproduction facility in Kirklareli, Turkey.

Novo Nordisk Foundation grants $17m for pharma fermentation pilot plant

01-Feb-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

The Novo Nordisk Foundation has awarded a DKK118m ($17m) grant to fund development of a fermentation pilot plant for cell line scale up experiments at the Technical University of Denmark.

Patented GE bioreactor bag boasts of 214m CHO cells/mL in perfusion mode

31-Jan-2017 By Dan Stanton

GE Healthcare says a new inflatable bioreactor bag configured in perfusion mode can achieve a cell density over four times that of the current industry standard.

Wuxi Biologics files IPO prospectus aiming to be gateway to China

25-Jan-2017 By Gareth Macdonald

Wuxi Biologics has confirmed its intention to go public in an IPO application that reveals the contracter has seen revenue double and profits increase three-fold since 2014.