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Supplier News: Simtra, Agilent, Kindeva & More 

The latest from CDMOs, CMOs, and suppliers featuring Simtra Biopharma, BioVectra, Kindeva, Ginkgo Bioworks, Polypeptide/Lifecore Biomedical, Ardena, WuXi Apptec and Symbiosis.  

Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing 
* PolyPeptide, Lifecore Partner for End-to-End Peptide Mfg
Biologics Manufacturing 
* Agilent’s BioVectra, Revolution Biomanufacturing Partner in mRNA  
* Ginkgo Bioworks Receives $22-M Contract from US Gov’t for mAbs 
Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing 
* Simtra Biopharma Provides Update on Sterile Injectables Expansion 
Appointments 
* Kindeva Names New President 
* Ardena Names Chief Quality Officer and Chief Information Officer 
* Symbiosis Appoints New VPs of Business Development 
General 
* WuXi Apptec to Divest China-based Clinical Services Business 

Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing 

PolyPeptide, Lifecore Partner for End-to-End Peptide Mfg 
Lifecore Biomedical, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based CDMO of fill–finish services, and PolyPeptide Laboratories, a CDMO focused on peptides, have entered an agreement aimed at providing an integrated, end-to-end offering for peptide-based development and manufacturing. The collaboration will combine PolyPeptide’s capabilities in peptide manufacturing and development in combination with Lifecore’s expertise in formulation, fill–finish, and packaging.  

Source: Lifecore Biomedical 

Biologics Manufacturing 

Agilent’s BioVectra, Revolution Biomanufacturing Partner in mRNA  
BioVectra, part of Agilent Technologies, and Revolution Biomanufacturing, a CDMO specializing in mRNA therapeutics and personalized medicines, have entered an agreement that grants BioVectra access to Revolution Biomanufacturing’s proprietary platforms for optimizing untranslated regions (UTRs) and codon usage to enhance mRNA stability and translational efficiency. 

Through this alliance, sponsors gain access to a workflow that begins with mRNA sequence design to improve expression and stability, followed by process development, scale-up, technology transfer, and GMP production of plasmid DNA (pDNA), mRNA, lipid nanoparticles (LNP), and sterile drug product for clinical use. 

Under the agreement, Revolution Biomanufacturing will provide construct design and optimization, including AI-driven codon-optimized DNA sequences and proprietary UTRs. BioVectra will provided integrated development and GMP manufacturing from preclinical through commercial scale, including process development, technology transfer, analytical testing, and sterile fill-finish. 

Source: BioVectra 

Ginkgo Bioworks Receives $22-M Contract from US Gov’t for mAbs 
Ginkgo Bioworks, a Boston-based biotechnology company specializing in cell engineering and related services for bio/pharmaceutical and industrial applications, has been awarded a $2-million contract through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority’s (BARDA) Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Preparedness Consortium (BioMaP-Consortium) to develop innovations that strengthen and reduce the costs of domestic biomanufacturing of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to protect against and treat infection by filoviruses such as the Ebola virus and Sudan viruses. BARDA is part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response in the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The project has a total contract value of up to $22.2 million and seeks to deploy these innovations to produce the anti-filovirus mAbs cocktail of 1C3 and 1C11, discovered and developed by Emory University. Ginkgo will lead a team composed of Advanced BioScience Laboratories (ABL), Inc., Isolere Bio by Donaldson, NeuImmune, Inc., and ProteoNic BV to develop and integrate innovative technologies that will span the entire process for producing mAb drugs. 

Source: Ginkgo Bioworks 

Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing 

Simtra Biopharma Provides Update on Sterile Injectables Expansion 
Simtra BioPharma Solutions, a CDMO specializing in injectable medicines, has announced updates to its ongoing manufacturing expansions. 

In the US at its site in Bloomington, Indiana, Simtra has added a clinical line for prefilled syringes and liquid and lyophilized vials and is building a new production facility that will house three isolator commercial-scale sterile filling lines. The company also acquired a 65-acre property nearby with more than 300,000 square feet of available space for future development. Plans for this campus include the installation of at least six additional isolator filling lines. The first new line will be a high-speed isolator vial filling line equipped with three lyophilizers dedicated to highly potent molecules, such as antibody-drug conjugates and is scheduled to be operational in 2027. 

Simtra’s expansion in Halle/Westfalen, Germany, continues in parallel. The company recently added a conjugation and purification suite and inaugurated a new building with two new high-speed isolator lines, one for syringes and one for liquid and lyophilized vials. 

Source: Simtra BioPharma Solutions 

Appointments 

Kindeva Names New President 
Kindeva, a CDMO of drug-delivery services and autoinjectors, has announced the promotion of David Stevens, currently Chief Operating and Commercial Officer, to the newly created role of President. In this capacity, he will lead Kindeva’s global operations. With over 20 years of experience in the CDMO industry, Stevens has led teams across biologics, sterile, and drug-product manufacturing.  

Source: Kindeva 

Ardena Names Chief Quality Officer and Chief Information Officer 
Ardena, a Ghent, Belgium-based CDMO of drug substances and drug products, has announced the appointment of Dipesh Patel, currently Senior Vice President, Quality, at Accord Healthcare, as Chief Quality Officer, and Peter Rose, currently Global Head of IT Infrastructure and Security at Diversey, a global chemical manufacturer, as Chief Information Officer. 

Patel brings more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having held senior leadership roles across CDMOs, virtual biotech companies, and large-scale manufacturing organizations. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President, Quality, at Accord Healthcare, and prior to that, he held leadership roles at Catalent as Vice President of Quality and Site General Manager. He is also a certified EU Qualified Person. At Ardena, Dipesh will lead the company’s Quality and Regulatory organization. 

Rose joins Ardena with over 25 years of leadership experience across multiple industries. Most recently, he was the Global Head of IT Infrastructure and Security at Diversey, where he led technology-enabled transformation and a successful IT migration of the company into the Solenis Group. Before that, he spent a decade at Catalent, where he oversaw all global IT systems supporting quality, analytical, and manufacturing operations.  

Source: Ardena 

Symbiosis Appoints New VPs of Business Development 
Symbiosis, a CDMO of injectables, has announced the appointments of Kevin O’Brien, currently Vice President of Business Development at Siegfried, and LeeAnn Nguyen, currently Director of Business Development at Ajinomoto Biopharma Services, as Vice Presidents of Business Development for North America, and North America and Asia, respectively. 

Based in California and with over 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry, O’Brien brings experience in client development and a strong technical background. Prior to joining Symbiosis, he served as Vice President of Business Development at Siegfried, representing multiple drug manufacturing sites. 

Nguyen joins the company with more than 15 years of experience in the life-sciences industry. Most recently, she was Director of Business Development at Ajinomoto Biopharma Services, where she focused on supporting clients through complex sterile manufacturing programs.  

Source: Symbiosis 

General 

WuXi Apptec to Divest China-based Clinical Services Business 
WuXi AppTec, a CDMO of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and drug products, and a provider of contract research services, has signed an agreement with Hillhouse Investment Management for Hillhouse to acquire WuXi AppTec’s China-based clinical research services business, including WuXi Clinical, a clinical CRO, and WuXi MedKey, a site management organization.

According to the company, divesting its-China-based clinical research services business will allow WuXi AppTec to further invest in and strengthen its core CRDMO platform. WuXi AppTec signed a definitive agreement with Hillhouse on October 24, 2025. The transaction is subject to all mandatory government approvals/filings by all parties. 

Source: WuXi AppTec