Welcome to Endpoints News’ manufacturing briefs, where we bring you essential news on new builds, collaborations, recalls and more.
Novo Nordisk has secured land and planning permission in Denmark to potentially build a new factory to make its weight loss drugs, according to Reuters. In a statement to Endpoints, Novo said it has started excavation work in Tietgenbyen but is waiting to complete an “internal approval process” before deciding to move ahead at the end of the year.
Lonza touted its mammalian cell line manufacturing capacity during its second-quarter earnings call Thursday. Its new CEO, Wolfgang Wienand, said one of his priorities is closing the company’s purchase of Roche’s site in Vacaville, CA. Wienand joined the company this month.
The Vacaville site will double Lonza’s capacity and help the company meet its commercial mammalian contracts, he added. Its biologics division, including its mammalian offerings, saw a 7.3% increase to CHF 1.7 billion ($1.9 billion), compared to the CHF 1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) reported in the same period last year.
Samsung Biologics reported a revenue of KRW 1.16 trillion ($839 million) in Q2, up 33.6% from the same period last year, the company said Wednesday. The revenue jump was attributed to its new contracts, which now amount to over $13 billion at the end of the quarter.
Merck KGaA has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese startup Gene Therapy Research Institution to make viral vectors for the biotech’s Parkinson’s disease therapy, the company said Tuesday. Merck KGaA will provide access to its insect cell line manufacturing platform, as well as help create an adeno-associated viral vector platform with the startup. The German pharma will also provide training and support.
Thermo Fisher Scientific is upping its sales forecast for the rest of the year, despite seeing a 1% dip in its second-quarter earnings. The company said Wednesday this is due to an increased demand for its clinical trial services and tools, CEO Marc Casper said during a call with investors.
GSK and Touchlight have inked a deal giving the UK drugmaker non-exclusive rights to use Touchlight’s enzymatic dbDNA technology to develop and produce mRNA-based products. The financial terms of the agreement announced Tuesday were not disclosed.
FedEx opened its first European life science center in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, last week. The facility features four temperature-controlled rooms and freezers, and will store, pack and ship healthcare products, including temperature-sensitive medicines.
MidEuropa now has the controlling stake in the CDMO Famar. Famar has six manufacturing sites across southern Europe and employees of around 1,900 staffers, according to a Monday release.
KBI Biopharma has expanded its existing commercial contract with an unnamed pharma company after successfully passing an FDA inspection, the company said Tuesday. The renewed contract is valid through 2029 and includes a purchase commitment for two products with an “incremental value” of around $250 million.
BWXT Medical and NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes agreed to work together to make and supply the radioisotope actinium-225 for clinical trials and commercial supply. The multi-year agreement also involves processing and purifying the isotope radium-226, BWXT said Monday.
Cell and gene therapy company ViroCell Biologics has signed a five-year agreement with an unnamed cancer center in the US. ViroCell will manufacture lentivirus vectors for the cancer center to use in a clinical study testing a T cell receptor therapy. The center will also gain access to ViroCell’s other clinical and commercial services, according to a Tuesday release.
Currax Pharma’s new manufacturing site for its obesity drug Contrave has been approved in the EU, according to a Tuesday release. The site will double the drug’s current production capacity and maintain continuity of supply, according to the biotech. Contrave was approved by the FDA in 2014 for weight management.
CDMO and API manufacturer Carbogen Amcis has passed two FDA inspections at its sites located in Neuland and Aarau, Switzerland, the company said Tuesday.