Olon to build ADC payloads facility

Italian CDMO Olon has announced the start of a construction on a €22 million facility for the production of ultra-potent compounds. These are aimed for use mainly as payloads and payload-linkers for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) at its site at Rodano, near Milan. The facility will reach containment OEB Level 6, with a target occupational exposure level (OEL) of 10 ng/m³.

“About 80% of the ADCs either approved or under development contain this type of payload, such as dolastatins or maytansnoids,” commented Giorgio Bertolini, VR of R&D. “There are also other highly strategic classes of cytotoxic payloads, such as anthracyclines, camptothecin and calicheamicin.”

The first phase, to build the payload R&D area, should be complete by 1H 2024. The company will move onto the second stage of finalising the production line by creating the QC and GMP production areas, with the installation of industrial production equipment. Olon has over 50 years of experience in HPAPIs, including anti-cancer drugs and cytotoxics.

The company has also just announced a further milestone in its plan to expand and increase production capacity, particularly at the Mulazzano site near Lodi. It will install an advanced mill for grinding finished APIs, which will operate in a fully closed-loop containment, up to OEB Level 4. The overall expansion strategy is supported by a recently announced annual investment plan that will reach €100 million in 2023.