Nicolas Biz, CDMO chief project officer, shows how Seqens rapidly developed production of a key material in the fight against Covid-19

Pending the availability of a vaccine, which will necessarily take time, the race against the clock is under way to identify and develop an anti-viral molecule effective against Covid-19. Research is taking place at an unprecedented speed, with more than 1,900 clinical trials listed worldwide since the start of the pandemic. Of these, 912 are in the process of patient testing.

Mark Quick, EVP of  corporate development at Recipharm, discusses the M&A trend within the CDMO industry

M&A activity within the pharmaceutical industry remains at a high. According to Ernst & Young (EY), M&A strategies have increased by around 12% year-on-year since 2012.¹ CDMOs are some of the major players in these high-value deals, seeing it as a valuable strategy that enables to capitalise on another company’s strengths and thus better position their organisations to meet market demands and realise a more competitive edge.

Several of the world’s major pharmaceutical CDMOS have recently made announcements relating to their participation in projects to develop treatment for the Covid-19 virus. Many involve chloroquines, in anticipation of their large-scale use.

Bachem, the world’s largest producer of pharmaceutical peptides and ologonucleotides, has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Japanese firm Jitsubo related to the latter’s liquid-phase peptide technology. Molecular Hiving. Financial terms were not disclosed. The two firms have already worked together on APIs and cosmetic peptides.

Roger-Marc Nicoud, CEO of Ypso-Facto, looks at the challenges and opportunities for CDMOs in the current crisis*

The current crisis has highlighted the dependence of European and, indeed, North American countries on delocalised production. This is the case for many goods, including APIs and drugs in general.

Evonik, which is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical CDMOs, has announced the €25 million first stage of a long-term programme to expand API and advanced intermediates capacity at its sites in Dossenheim and Hanau, Germany. This should be completed by mid-2021 and the whole project should be finalised prior to 2024.

AGC has announced plans to expand its CDMO subsidiary, AGC Pharma Chemicals Europe. As well as adding 30% to the capacity of its production facilities by May 2022, this will see the addition of a new micronisation facility and a new R&D facility, which is due to begin operation in March 2021. The plant, near Barcelona, was originally known as Malgrat Pharma Chemicals.