A roundup of the latest expansions and investments from suppliers, contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), featuring news from Catalent Pharma Solutions, Brammer Bio, APC, Datwyler, and LabVantage.

Biologics

Brammer Bio Invests $200 Million in Facility Expansions
Brammer Bio, a Lexington, Massachusetts-headquartered cell and gene-therapy CDMO, is investing $200 million over three years to establish over 30 suites for clinical and commercial viral-vector supply for a pipeline of advanced gene therapies and gene-modified cell therapies.

The investment includes expansions at Brammer’s Alachua, Florida facilities to be completed by the end of 2018 as well as expansion of its first commercial facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019. The company is also renovating a facility at its second commercial facility, to be completed in the first half of 2019.

Source: Brammer Bio

APC Invests $2.3 Million for Biologics Pilot Plant
The Applied Process Company (APC), a process development, design, and innovation company, has completed a EUR 2 million Euro ($2.3 million) joint investment with its client partner, Bavarian Nordic A/S, a Kvistgaard, Denmark-based biopharmaceutical company, to build a new 500-liter single-use biologics facility at APC headquarters in Cherrywood, Dublin, Ireland.  

Since 2017, APC has been developing and testing process platforms for Bavarian Nordic A/S to provide upstream and downstream development support, scale-up, and analytical services for its broad spectrum respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate, MVA-BN RSV.

Source: APC

Formulation/Drug Product Manufacturing

Catalent Invests $7.3 Million for Packaging, Softgel Capabilities
Catalent Pharma Solutions has completed the first phase of a $7.3-million investment to upgrade and expand its packaging and softgel encapsulation capabilities at its facility in Aprilia, Italy.

The first phase of investment, completed in August 2018, saw the expansion and upgrade of the facility’s integrated packaging capabilities, and the commissioning of the first of five new softgel encapsulation lines. The second phase of the investment, to add a further four encapsulation lines, will bring the total number of lines to 23 and expand production, drying, and inspection capacity for nutritional supplements and beauty softgels at the site. It is expected that these four new lines will be fully operational by January 2019.

Source: Catalent Pharma Solutions

Packaging

Datwyler Opens Automated Production Plant
Datwyler, a Altdorf, Switzerland-headquartered supplier of customized sealing solutions, has opened an automated manufacturing plant for elastomer components in Middetown, Delaware.

The facility will use Datwyler’s First Line Standard manufacturing line for elastomer components, which involves cleanroom technology, automatic production cells, fully automatic camera inspection, and a washing process. With this new capacity, Datwyler says it will be able to increase its global First Line production by 50% by 2020.

Datwyler has invested more than CHF 100 million ($100 million) in the new plant to produce elastomer components. In the fourth quarter of 2018, certification will be carried out by customers before series production starts at the beginning of 2019.

Source: Datwyler

General

LabVantage Appoints New CEO
LabVantage Solutions, a Somerset, New Jersey-based provider of laboratory informatics software for laboratory information management systems, has appointed John Heiser as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Heiser will replace LabVantage President Ram Velidi, who is leaving the company to pursue a new entrepreneurial endeavor.

Source: LabVantage Solutions