Olon in enzymatic expansion

In partnership with Aguettant Pharmarmaceutical, Italy’s Olon Group is to expand and renovate its plant in Mulazzano, which is dedicated to the production by enzymatic transformation. It will install reactors, filters and ancillary equipment, as well as automating and digitalising some steps performed there.

A new line will be dedicated to the large-scale production of phosphorylated sugar, a key carbohydrate intermediate in the metabolism and storage of glucose, which is used to produce an injectable treatment. The Mulazzano site has been developing the process using renewable raw materials and reagents over many years. 

In parallel, Olon has formed a network of scientific excellence to launch large-scale biocatalysis as an industrial technology at its sites. Its partners are Biosphere, an Italian SME specialised in fermentation and industrial biotechnology, and Professor Francesco Mutti’s Biocatalysis Group at the Van’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS-Biocat) at the University of Amsterdam. HIMS-Biocat has pioneered research in enzyme engineering and the use of enzymes for sustainable and green chemical reactions. 

Olon has also begun an investment in an HPAPI line at the facility of its Olon Ricerca Bioscience (ORB) at Concord, Ohio. In the longer term, it will increase capacity to meet demand of up to a hundred grams and mirror the Italian facilities, which can produce HPAPIs on a larger scale. ORN added that it can now bridge the gap between the pre-clinical phase and commercial production. Pic: Olon, no cap