The latest from CDMOs, CMOs, and suppliers featuring AGC Biologics, Asahi Kasei Life Science and PharmaLogic. 

Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing 
* CDMO PharmaLogic Acquires Majority Stake in Radiopharma CDMO Agilera 
Biologics Manufacturing 
* AGC Biologics Selects Single-Use Bioreactors for New Japan Facility 
* Asahi Kasei Life Science Begins Operations 

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Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing 

CDMO PharmaLogic Acquires Majority Stake in Radiopharma CDMO Agilera 
PharmaLogic, a CDMO specializing in radiopharmaceuticals, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Agilera Pharm, also a CDMO specializing in radiopharmaceuticals, from the Institute for Energy Technology, a research institute based in Kjeller, Norway.  

Agilera manufactures commercial radiopharmaceutical therapies across the US, Europe, and Asia, with more than 600,000 commercial therapeutic doses delivered to more than 40 countries. 

Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, license transfers and certain third-party consents. The acquisition is expected to close in June of 2025. 

Source: PharmaLogic 

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Biologics Manufacturing 

AGC Biologics Selects Single-Use Bioreactors for New Japan Facility 
AGC Biologics, a CDMO of biologics, has specificied the large-scale single-use technology it will use at its new facility in Yokohama, Japan. The company is introducing two 5,000-L Thermo Scientific DynaDrive Single-Use Bioreactors, with GMP operations beginning in 2027.  

The new facility will offer support from initial process development work for early-phase projects to late-phase and commercial production. It will support mammalian expression, cell therapy, and messenger RNA (mRNA) drug products. 

Source: AGC Biologics 

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Asahi Kasei Life Science Begins Operations 
Asahi Kasei Life Science, a subsidiary of Asahi Kasei, a Tokyo-based chemicals, materials, and life-sciences company, began operations, effective April 1, 2024. Asahi Kasei had announced the spin-out of its bioprocessing operations to form Asahi Kasei Life Sciences last September (September 2024) 

Products of Asahi Kasei Life Science include Planova (virus removal filters) and equipment used in the manufacturing process of biotherapeutic products, antibody drugs, plasma derivatives, and nucleic acid drugs. The company had expanded in 2023 in Illinois, and a new assembly plant for Planova was completed in 2024 in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan. 

Asahi Kasei Life Science consists of several businesses, the contract research organization (CRO) testing services performed by Virusure (Austria), acquired in 2019, and Bionique (US) as well as a biologics CDMO, Bionova (US), acquired in 2022.  In 2024, Bionova decided to launch a plasmid DNA (pDNA) business and establish a new pDNA facility in Texas.  

Source: Asahi Kasei Life Science