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US Government Awards Moderna $1.5 billion for COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate
In combination with BARDA’s previous award, the commitment for early access to Moderna’s vaccine candidate has now reached to up to $2.48 billion.
ANA Therapeutics and Quotient Sciences to Collaborate on Potential COVID-19 Treatment
ANA will use Quotient’s formulation and manufacturing knowledge to develop and supply the drug product for clinical trials by the third quarter of 2020.
Cadila Pharmaceuticals Launches Biosimilar Rituximab
The company has launched its biosimilar rituximab, Ritucad, for the Indian market.
Novavax Collaborates with SK bioscience for COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate
SK bioscience will manufacture the vaccine antigen component for use in the final drug product at its vaccine facility in Andong L-house, South Korea.
CHMP Gives Positive Opinion on Centus Biotherapeutics’ Bevacizumab Biosimilar
The committee has given a positive opinion on the biosimilar bevacizumab for several cancer indications.
Henlius and Accord Healthcare Receive European Approval for Biosimilar Trastuzumab
The companies received approval from the EC for Zercepac (HLX02), a biosimilar referencing Roche’s originator biologic, Herceptin (trastuzumab).
CTS Bioprocessing Acquires Sani-Tech West Companies and Rebrands as SaniSure
The companies will work to establish an operational footprint across North America and Europe that will offer customers supply chain assurance for a combined portfolio of leading solutions.
Bayer to Acquire KaNDy Therapeutics for up to $875 Million
The company will use the acquisition to further its drug development pipeline in women’s healthcare.
Researchers Question Russia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Approval
Questions about safety and efficacy surround Putin’s announced approval of a COVID-19 vaccine with no supporting clinical trial results.
FDA Publishes Guidance on Drug-Drug Interaction Studies for a Therapeutic Protein
The guidance is intended to assist IND sponsors in determining the need for drug-drug interaction studies.
Grand River Selected for Operation Warp Speed Efforts
The CDMO will offer capacity for manufacturing and distributing COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics at its Grand Rapids, MI, fill/finish facility.
Takeda and Novavax Team Up for COVID-19 Vaccine Development in Japan
The companies will collaborate on the manufacturing, clinical development, and regulatory activities for Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine in Japan.
FDA in Hot Seat on Buy American Drug Policy
The White House initiative to encourage production of essential medicines in the United States calls on FDA to set the parameters for and implement main aspects of the program.
Pfizer and BioNTech to Supply Japan and Canada with mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate
The companies have agreements to supply its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine to Japan and Canada, pending regulatory approvals in those countries.
Novartis Gets EMA Approval for Two European Commercial CAR-T Manufacturing Sites
The European Medicines Agency recently approved two European Novartis sites in France and Switzerland for the commercial manufacturing of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell cell therapies.
SBIR Awards $1.4-Million Grant to Accelerate Antibody Manufacturing Technology
The award will help a bioanalytics startup commercialize instrument technology for pharmaceutical antibody manufacturers.
J&J in $1-Billion Agreement with US Government for 100 Million Doses of Investigational COVID-19 Vaccine
The company is working to ensure broad global access to its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, following approval from regulators.
Sanofi and GSK to Supply COVID-19 Vaccine to US Government and European Union
Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline have been selected to supply the US government and the European Union with millions of doses of their COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
Lonza Expands its Microbial Manufacturing Facility in Switzerland
The expansion will involve using the facilities’ existing central utilities and labs to supplement its small-scale and large-scale assets.
Catalent to Expand its Argentinian Site
The expanded facility will feature two new 40-L and 300-L manufacturing vessels, a capsule filling line, and six drying tunnels that will add more than 10 million doses per annum to the site.
FDA Approves First Cell-Based Gene Therapy for MCL
The therapy, indicated for a rare form of B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, was developed by Kite, a Gilead company, which will manufacture the therapy at its facility in El Segundo, CA.
Drug Safety Summit Discusses Impact of COVID-19 on Pharma Supply Chain
Healthcare groups met in late July 2020 to discuss the state of the US pharmaceutical supply chain and the impact of COVID-19.
PPD and Pfizer Enter into Three-Year Agreement
PPD announced it will provide drug development services to advance Pfizer’s portfolio.
Debate Accelerates Over Who Gets COVID Vaccine First
As biopharma companies and research institutes advance the development of COVID-19 vaccines, policy makers and health officials are debating strategies for ensuring fair and equitable distribution of anticipated preventives.
Polyplus-transfection Launches Residual Test for Transfection Reagents
The company has launched a residual GMP-compliant test and dual sourcing opportunity designed to increase compliance and reduce risks for ATMP manufacture.
MilliporeSigma Invests $20 Million in New Switzerland Laboratory
The investment will allow for the expansion of analytical R&D efforts and will support the company’s reference materials business.
MOBILIon’s SLIM Technology Enhances R&D Analytics
The company’s SLIM technology has been a part of the company’s accelerated growth by offering enhanced R&D analytics.
Global Regulatory Collaborations Aim to Speed Access to New Vaccines and Drugs
Efforts by regulators seek common approaches to clinical research and biopharmaceutical production needed to wipe out the coronavirus pandemic globally.
Rigenerand Develops 3D Bioreactor for Extracellular Vesicle Exosomes Production
The company has begun development of a 3D bioreactor for the cGMP production of extracellular vesicle exosomes.
Vico Therapeutics Raises $31 Million in Series A Financing Round
Vico Therapeutics has raised $31 million (€27 million) in a Series A financing round, which the company will use to further advance its Antisense OligoNucleotides lead platform.