Veranova has initiated a “significant” expansion of its ADC and highly potent compound development and manufacturing capabilities at Devens, Massachusetts, at a cost of about $30 million. The company said that this will address growing demand for strong US-based capacity for ADCs and other potent small molecules.
CDMO Sterling Pharma Solutions has announced a $3 million investment in antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) development and manufacturing at its facility at Germantown, Wisconsin. It has commissioned a dedicated GMP suite, which will incorporate a modular isolator with containment capabilities down to less than 1 ng/m3.
Lonza has extended two ongoing collaborations with unnamed major biopharmaceutical companies. One covers the commercial-scale filling of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), the other bioconjugation. Financial details were not disclosed in either case.
As part of the former partnership, Lonza will build a dedicated line at its site in Stein, Switzerland, for the aseptic filling of highly potent ADCs and lyophilisation under containment. The new line is expected to be operational in 2027 and to create about 115 new jobs at peak capacity.
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.
Lonza has completed the expansion of a multi-purpose. kilogram-scale HPAPI manufacturing suite at its main site in Visp, Switzerland. This adds development and manufacturing capacity for ADC payloads, “supporting the entire development and manufacturing pipeline from feasibility studies to commercial supply”.
Indian-based CDMO Piramal Pharma Solutions (PPS) is to invest about £55 million to expand two sites in the UK. It will expand its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) capabilities at Grangemouth in Scotland and new API infrastructure at Morpeth in north-east England.
Merck KGaA’s Life Science business sector has launched ChetoSensar, a technology that improves the solubility of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Over 20% of ADC candidates are terminated in clinical trials because of poor solubility. The company said that this supports it efforts to double its ADC and HPAPI capacity in the near future.
