Avantor Acquires Masterflex for $2.9 Bn; Baxter Expands
The latest from CDMOs, CMOs, and suppliers featuring Avantor, Baxter BioPharm Solutions, Almac, PCI Pharma Services, Selkirk, MilliporeSigma, Fujifilm Irvine Scientific, Gerresheimer, and more.
Chemicals/Chemical APIs
Almac in Pact for 3D-Print Flow Chemistry Reactors
Almac Group, a Craigavon, UK-based CDMO, has initiated a new flow chemistry collaboration with Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), a manufacturing research and technology organization with labs and industrial pilot lines in Ireland, to design and 3D print flow reactors and static mixers.
The planned project takes advantage of additive manufacturing, an industrialized approach to 3D printing, to make reactors. Earlier this year (2021), Almac Sciences invested over £5 million ($7 million) to establish its R&D center for its biocatalysis, flow chemistry, and peptides solutions.
Source: Almac Group
Biologics Manufacturing
Avantor Completes $2.9-Bn Acquisition of Masterflex
Avantor, a supplier of ultra-high-purity materials for the life sciences and advanced technology industries, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Masterflex, the bioprocessing business and related assets of Antylia Scientific, a life-science tools company, for $2.9 billion.
Headquartered in Vernon Hills, Illinois, Masterflex is a manufacturer of peristaltic pumps and aseptic single-use, and fluid-transfer technologies with estimated 2022 revenues of approximately $300 million. The acquisition strengthens Avantor’s offering across all bioproduction platform, including monoclonal antibodies, cell and gene therapies and mRNA, and supports both therapy and vaccine manufacturing.
Source: Avantor
MilliporeSigm, SaudiVax Partner for Mfg Facility
MilliporeSigma, the life sciences and CDMO arm of Merck KGaA, will support SaudiVax, a Saudi Arabia-based bio/pharmaceutical company, to design a multi-modality manufacturing facility for SaudiVax to localize manufacturing of biologics and vaccines for the Middle East and North African region. SaudiVax says it is seeking to become the first developer and manufacturer of Halal vaccines and biotherapeutics in Saudi Arabia.
The first phase of this collaboration will focus on conceptual and equipment selection studies, followed by facility fit-out, consulting, and process development services to enable SaudiVax to achieve self-sufficient cGMP manufacturing. As part of this first phase, MilliporeSigma will support the training of SaudiVax employees in its M Lab Collaboration Center in Molsheim, France, and on its end-to-end site located in Martillac, France.
Source: MilliporeSigma
Fujifilm Irvine Scientific Expanding R&D Center
Fujifilm Irvine Scientific, a manufacturer of cell-culture media, reagents, and medical devices for researchers and clinicians, has expanded its Armstrong R&D Center of Excellence at its headquarters in Santa Ana, California.
The expansion will support new programs and initiatives Fujifilm Irvine Scientific offers, including manufacturing sciences and technologies, single-use technology development, and automation platforms for media development. The expanded footprint will also include dedicated space for analytical chemistry, virology, assisted reproductive technology, and additional cell-culture and molecular-based assay development. The company expects a doubling of its R&D headcount by the close of 2022.
Construction began in October (October 2021) and is planned for completion by January 2022.
Source: Fujifilm Irvine Scientific
Formulation Development/Drug-Product Manufacturing
Baxter BioPharma Investing $100 M To Expand Fill–Finish Mfg
Baxter BioPharma Solutions (BPS), a business unit and CDMO business of Baxter International, is investing approximately $100 million to expand its sterile fill–finish manufacturing facility in Halle/Westfalen, Germany. Construction on the new manufacturing building is expected to begin in 2022 and be completed in 2024.
Source: Baxter
Selkirk To Expand Fill–Finish Campus
Selkirk Pharma, a Spokane, Washington-based CDMO, has executed a purchase-and-sale agreement to acquire 10.7 acres of land adjacent to its facility in Spokane to expand its fill–finish campus.
The company, which launched operations in 2019, specializes in the fill–finish of injectable drugs. The campus expansion will add capacity for the manufacture of commercial and clinical trial drugs.
The land acquisition expands the Selkirk campus to more than 27 acres, which provides space for three standalone factories. Selkirk’s first plant (Plant 1), a 145,000-square-foot facility, is under construction and is slated to be completed in March of 2022. The newly acquired 10.7-acre site will serve as the location for Selkirk’s third plant.
Selkirk and its partners have so far invested over $90 million and will announce additional investments to build out the remaining campus at a later date (as reported on November 1, 2021). The company has 35 employees and says it is actively recruiting to support the start of Plant 1 operations in mid-2022. At full capacity, the Selkirk campus is expected to employ roughly 750 scientists, engineers, and operations personnel.
Source: Selkirk
Meiji Investing in New Drug-Product Mfg Facility
Meiji Seika Pharma, a Japanese pharmaceutical and food company, has announced plans to invest $20.1 million to construct a new drug-product manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, India, to expand the CMO business of Adcock Ingram. a joint venture between Adcock Ingram Holdings and Medreich, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meiji Seika Pharma.
The facility, which will be located at an existing Adcock Ingram facility, will occupy an 8,000-square-meter site area and is slated to be operational by March 2023. Projected annual product capacity for the new facility is 750 million tablets, 75 million packages (sachets), and 4 million bottles.
Adcock Ingram manufactures pharmaceutical products and distributes for the South African, European, and Oceanian markets.
Source: Meiji Seika Pharma
Packaging
PCI Pharma Services To Build Clinical Supply Center
PCI Pharma Services, a CDMO and contract provider of packaging services, has announced plans for a new clinical center of excellence in Bridgewater, Massachusetts to provide clinical storage, distribution, and packaging.
The 50,000-square-foot center is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2022. Over the last 18 months, PCI has invested in global clinical sites in San Diego, California; Rockford, Illinois; Melbourne, Australia; and Berlin Germany.
This news comes after the company’s recent announcement to acquire LSNE Contract Manufacturing, a CDMO of fill–finish and lyophilization services headquartered in Bedford, New Hampshire.
Source: PCI Pharma Services
Gerresheimer Acquires IP for Autoinjector from Midas
Gerresheimer, a provider of glass and plastic packaging products for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, has acquired the intellectual property (IP) of a new cartridge-based autoinjectors from Midas Pharma, an Ingelheim, Germany-based pharmaceutical company.
The new-generation autoinjector is suitable for subcutaneous injection with up to 3-mL injection volume.
This acquisition is the start of a strategic partnership for the development and marketing of the autoinjector between the companies.
Source: Gerresheimer and Midas Pharma
General
Almac Group To Add 1,800 New Jobs
Almac Group, a Craigavon, UK-based CDMO, is planning to recruit 1,800 new jobs across its global operations over the next three years (as reported on November 8, 2021).
These new jobs include operational, supervisory, and managerial roles across its business. Positions are available immediately across 120 different job roles at the company’s sites in the UK, Ireland, North America, Singapore, Japan and the Nordic region.
Source: Almac
