BioBusiness

The COVID-19 pandemic generated partnerships among organizations with the goal of changing the way in which assay development and tech transfer of these assays are conducted moving forward.

The urgency with which COVID-19 forced the biopharma industry to produce therapies has refocused the search for new tools to enable rapid therapeutic responses to a pandemic.

The collaboration will leverage Alynlam’s proprietary small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology to inhibit a target discovered by Novartis.

FDA has cleared an IND from Poseida Therapeutics, allowing continued development of the company’s allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy candidate for treating multiple solid tumors.

The acquisition of Protein Metrics expands Insightful Science’s R&D solutions to include proteomics.

Neurimmune will receive up to $760 million for NI006, an investigational human monoclonal antibody in development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy.

With this investment into Yapan Bio, Piramal Pharma adds new technologies and capabilities in large molecules, including vaccines and gene therapies, to its global offering.

Warp speed is amazoning pharma practices and protocols.

Survey respondents reflect on the state and future of the bio/pharma employment.

Sanofi’s acquisition will grant access to Amunix's promising immuno-oncology pipeline.

Bionique Testing Laboratories has been acquired by Asahi Kasei Medical and will join the company’s biosafety testing services unit.

FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific’s new manufacturing facility in Tilburg, the Netherlands, is now fully operational.

FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies plans to invest £400 million (US$528 million) to expand its Billingham, Teeside facility in the United Kingdom.

Pfizer’s $6.7 billion acquisition of Arena will give them access to a portfolio of immuno-inflammatory therapies.

GlaxoSmithKline, together with the University of Oxford, has launched the Oxford-GSK Institute under a new collaboration that aims to study complex diseases to accelerate the success of drug discovery and drug development efforts.

The authors review some of the monoclonal antibody candidates that reached Phase III clinical trials but were discontinued at later stages.

Lonza has signed a five-year services agreement to provide for the development and manufacturing of biologics and small molecules for portfolio companies owned by Bioqube Ventures.

Leucid Bio will collaborate with Lonza to use Lonza’s Cocoon Platform for clinical and commercial manufacturing of CAR T cells for Leucid’s lead candidate.

Sanofi’s acquisition of Origimm Biotechnology will add to its pipeline of vaccine candidates for treating acne.

Doer Biologics will use Lonza’s XS technology in the production of its proprietary platform technology.

AstraZeneca struck a deal worth up to more than $3.5 billion with Ionis Pharmaceuticals for the rights to develop and commercialize their transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis treatment.

President Joe Biden highlighted how current proposals for curbing outlays on pharmaceuticals will help protect patients’ health and save the government billions.

Recordati’s blockbuster acquisition of EUSA Pharma gives them access to a portfolio of four drugs that treat rare cancers.

EMA has fully validated the marketing authorization application for Atara Biotherapeutics’ off-the-shelf allogeneic T-cell therapy, tab-cel (tabelecleucel), with an approval decision expected in 2022.

Chinook Therapeutics has formed a 50/50 joint venture with investors to develop kidney disease therapies in China.

Sartorius is investing €100 million (US$113 million) between 2021 and 2025 to expand capacities for production, innovation, and storage at its French facilities in Aubagne, Cergy, and Lourdes.

Sartorius will invest approximately €270 million (US$305 million) to expand its biopharmaceutical manufacturing activities in South Korea’s biopharm hub.

Glycosylation monitoring has been heavily dependent on manual processes, but the automation of sample preparation streamlines the overall workflow.

Partnerships formed during the COVID-19 pandemic have provided a platform for change in assay development and transfers that should continue in the future.

COVID-19 is refocusing calls for new tools and urgent therapeutic responses.