Lonza, Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma, CoreRx Expand; WuXi Vaccines Names New CEO
The latest from CDMOs, CMOs, and suppliers featuring Lonza, Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, CoreRx, and WuXi Vaccines.
Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing
Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services To Add New Small-Molecule Mfg Facility
Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, a CDMO of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and drug products, is expanding its small-molecule manufacturing capabilities with the addition of a new production facility in Visakhapatnam, India. Construction of the 8,500-square-meter facility began at the end of July 2020 and is expected to be completed mid-2022.
The new small-molecule manufacturing facility doubles the production capacity at the site to 310 cubic meters for APIs and intermediates and has dedicated equipment to manage Occupational Exposure Band Level 4 high-potency ingredients. The site has completed renovations on existing laboratory space to support additional R&D activities. It is estimated that the expansion will create at least 60 new jobs at the site.
Source: Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services
Biologics Manufacturing
Lonza To Increase Microbial Mfg Capacity
Lonza has an announced an expansion to the company’s microbial manufacturing facility in Visp, Switzerland to provide mid-scale commercial manufacturing to multiple customers, including the French pharmaceutical company, Servier.
Servier and Lonza recently signed a long-term extension to their manufacturing agreement for Servier’s L-asparaginase, a drug to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and produced by Lonza since 2009.
The new facility, which is under construction, will be the sixth to be housed in Lonza’s new biopark in Visp, Switzerland. The new mid-scale (3,000 L) microbial facility will use existing central utilities and labs and will complement the existing small-scale (1,000 L) and large-scale (15,000 L) assets in Visp. The facility is expected to be operational in the second half of 2022, and Lonza expects to add 100 new staff to its existing microbial team.
Source: Lonza
WuXi Vaccines Names CEO
WuXi Vaccines, a vaccine CDMO and joint venture between WuXi Biologics and Shanghai-based Hile Bio-Technology, has appointed Jian Dong as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
He joined WuXi Biologics in 2014 and had been responsible for biomanufacturing, engineering, and the overall operations of the Wuxi site since 2015. Prior to joining WuXi Biologics, he served in various roles at Eli Lilly & Company in the US, Shanghai United Cell Biotechnology, and Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co.
In February (February 2020), WuXi Vaccines completed the modular lab installation of its $240-million vaccine-manufacturing facility in Ireland. The company says the vaccine-manufacturing facility is expected to be operational in 2021.
Source: WuXi Biologics
Formulation Development/Drug-Product Manufacturing
CoreRx’s New Product Development Center Operational
CoreRx, a Clearwater, Florida-based CDMO of solid, liquid and semi-solid dosage forms, reports that its new product development center is operational. The site includes nine R&D formulation development and R&D-scale manufacturing suites, nearly 5,000 square feet of analytical laboratory space, as well as capacity for an additional 35 employees to the Clearwater workforce over time.
The new 26,000-square-foot space expands the capacity of oral and topical dosage form development group by increasing drug-product volume through several formulation technologies, including blending, roller compaction, wet granulation, fluid-bed drying, spray drying, and extrusion spheronization.
Source: CoreRx
