BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMACY MARKET
PCI Pharma Services | March 20, 2023
PCI Pharma Services (PCI), a leading global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced plans for a new 200,000-square-foot facility in Rockford, Illinois to enhance the organization’s capacity in injectable drug-device combination product assembly of both biologics and small molecules. Building on PCI’s leadership in this space with its Philadelphia Biotech Center of Excellence, the new facility is the second expansion building off the success in Philadelphia and will house over 20 dedicated customer suites with multiformat machines for the assembly and packaging of vials, pre-filled syringes, auto-injectors, and pen-cartridge combinations. This machinery can be used for the glucagon-like peptide 1 agonists (GLP-1) class of drugs prescribed to treat diabetes and obesity, as well as those needed for oncology treatment and autoimmune diseases.
PCI’s Rockford location will have extensive product testing capability, state-of-the art top-load cartoning technology, and industry leading injector and pen assembly equipment. Additional capabilities include on-site cold storage, high-speed vial labeling, assembly, and packaging of multiformat autoinjectors, serialization, testing, and drug product release.
“We see the tremendous impact that we can make with patients with this investment,” said Salim Haffar, CEO of PCI Pharma Services. “The need for injectable drug-delivery device combination product capacity and expertise is critical, and we are responding with a world-class facility to address the future demands of our global clients so they can focus on developing therapies to improve the lives of patients with serious chronic conditions.”
The $50 million investment in Rockford will amplify PCI’s specialty drug leadership presence in the Midwest, adding to clinical and commercial sterile fill-finish capabilities in Madison, Wisconsin. The new facility will provide a second hub within the U.S., expanding from PCI’s foundation in the Northeast, with Bedford, New Hampshire’s campus growth in aseptic processing. PCI also has sterile fill-finish capabilities at its Leon, Spain; San Diego, California; and Melbourne, Australia locations. The expansion in Rockford is expected to bring 250 jobs to the region in the next two years, with continued growth over three to five years. The site is expected to be fully operational in summer 2024.
“With this new facility, we will be able to serve all clients focused on injectable drug products including biologics with the equipment and capacity to make life-changing medicines,” said Gil Valadez, Senior Vice President, Commercial Packaging Technology, PCI Pharma Services. “We want to help our clients by managing the technical aspects of drug manufacturing, engineering, and delivery, so they can focus on what’s most important: delivering quality products to meet patient needs. That's what PCI is ultimately all about.”
About the Rockford, IL Facility
Rockford is the largest of PCI’s 30 locations across the U.S., European, and Asia Pacific regions, providing industry-leading services for the clinical and commercial packaging of a diverse portfolio of products and specialized delivery forms destined to reach more than 100 countries across the world. The gated secured facility is classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as Schedule 3. It features temperature and humidity control, an approved Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) and offers TF1 and Uhlmann blistering, vibratory and slat filler bottling, powder filling, cartoning, carding, kitting and serialization capabilities. Warehouse storage includes freezer storage -15°C to -30°C and cold storage 2°C to 8°C.
About PCI Pharma Services
PCI is a leading global CDMO, providing clients with integrated end-to-end drug development, manufacturing and packaging capabilities that increase their products’ speed to market and opportunities for commercial success. PCI brings the proven experience that comes with more than 50 successful product launches each year and over five decades in the healthcare services business. We currently have 30 sites across seven countries (Australia, Canada, U.S., Ireland, Wales, Germany and Spain) and over 5,000 employees that work to bring life-changing therapies to patients. Leading technology and continued investment enable us to address global drug development needs throughout the entire product life cycle – from manufacturing capabilities through the clinical trial supply chain and into commercialization. Our clients view us as an extension of their business and a collaborative partner with the shared goal of improving patients’ lives.
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PHARMACY MARKET
Globenewswire | May 15, 2023
Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing potential best-in-class medicines for serious and rare diseases, announced a new partnership with Enable Injections, a company developing and manufacturing the enFuse® innovative wearable drug delivery system for volumes of up to 25mL.
“As we expand our pipeline beyond TED and assess the unmet needs of patients living with other serious and rare diseases, it’s clear that convenient drug delivery is an important issue,” said Scott Myers, President and CEO of Viridian. “We believe Enable’s proprietary technology can contribute meaningfully to our goal of delivering therapeutic advances while reducing patient treatment burden as well.”
“Enable Injections is excited to partner with Viridian to utilize the enFuse® technology to enhance the patient experience,” said Michael D. Hooven, Enable Injections' Chairman and CEO. “The enFuse® on-body delivery system was engineered with the patient in mind—the hidden needle and hands-free delivery allows patients to have increased flexibility, improved convenience, and the ability to administer medication discreetly, whether at home via self-administration or in the clinic.”
This partnership, which applies exclusively to areas outside of Viridian's established TED portfolio, underscores the company's commitment to patient-centric innovation.
About Viridian Therapeutics
Viridian Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on engineering and developing potential best-in-class medicines for patients with serious and rare diseases. Viridian’s expertise in antibody discovery and engineering enables it to develop differentiated therapeutic candidates for previously validated drug targets in commercially established disease areas.
Viridian is advancing multiple candidates in the clinic for the treatment of patients with thyroid eye disease (TED). The Company has initiated its first global Phase 3 trial called ‘THRIVE’ to evaluate the safety and efficacy of VRDN-001 in patients with active TED. Viridian is also evaluating VRDN-001 in a Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial in patients with chronic TED. In addition to its program for intravenously administered VRDN-001, the Company is advancing three candidates for its subcutaneous strategy with the goal of providing a more conveniently administered therapy to patients with TED. Viridian is also developing multiple preclinical assets in autoimmune and rare diseases.
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BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMACY MARKET
prnewswire | April 20, 2023
Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services a leading provider of biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing services, is pleased to announce that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company's high potency vial line to manufacture a commercial product.
"Receiving FDA approval on our HPAPI fill line is an exciting milestone for our company, and couldn't have happened without the hard work, hours of preparation, diligence and support from the Aji Bio-Pharma team across our whole organization. As a leading global CDMO, we are dedicated to providing high-quality drug process development and manufacturing services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies worldwide." said Bert Barbosa, President & COO, Ajinomoto Bio Pharma Services, US.
Aji Bio-Pharma has six fill finish lines located in San Diego, including a new line that offers a range of configurations, including prefilled syringes, cartridges and vials. The high-speed process is rated to move up to 22,000 syringes per hour through the line, with a batch capacity of over 200 thousand syringes. This multi-purpose fill line has been designed to meet FDA and EMEA commercial compliance.
About Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services
Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services is a fully integrated contract development and manufacturing organization with sites in Belgium, United States, Japan, and India, providing comprehensive development, cGMP API manufacturing, and aseptic fill finish services for small and large molecule APIs and intermediates. Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services offers a broad range of innovative platforms and capabilities for pre-clinical and pilot programs to commercial quantities, including high potency APIs (HPAPI), continuous flow manufacturing, oligonucleotide synthesis, biocatalysis, Corynex® protein expression technology, antibody drug conjugations (ADC) and more. Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services is dedicated to providing a high level of quality and service to meet our client's needs.
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