CDMO, CMO, Supplier Roundup in Supporting COVID-19 Projects

The latest from CDMOs/CMOs and suppliers in COVID-19 projects featuring Avid Bioservices and Northway Biotechpharma.

Biologics Manufacturing

Northway Biotechpharma in Mfg Pact for COVID Drug Candidate
Memo Therapeutics (MTx), a Schlieren, Switzerland-based biopharmaceutical company, and Northway Biotechpharma, a Vilnius, Lithuania-based CDMO, have entered into a partnership for fast-track manufacturing of MTX-COVAB, MTx’s antibody candidate for the treatment of COVID-19.

Under the manufacturing agreement, Northway will develop the cell line and the manufacturing process and will further produce batches of MTx’s antibody for clinical studies. Northway is also positioned to execute commercial production once MTX-COVAB receives marketing authorization.

Northway produces antibodies and other mammalian cell-based therapeutics up to the 2.000-L scale in single-use bioreactors at its current facilities. The company has facilities in Vinilnius, Lithuania and Waltham, Massachusetts. A larger-scale production facility using stainless-steel bioreactors will be made operational by the start of 2021 to facilitate ramping up of capacity to meet MTx’s demand.

Source: Memo Therapeutics and Northway Biotechpharma


Avid Bioservices in Pact for Process Development, Mfg of COVID Vaccine
Avid Bioservices, a biologics CDMO, and Oragenics, a Tampa, Florida-based company that develops antibiotics and treatments against infectious diseases, have entered into a process development and drug-substance manufacturing agreement for a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Under the agreement, Avid will provide Oragenics with analytical method development, process development, and drug-substance manufacturing services to support development of Oragenics’ spike protein vaccine candidate, Terra CoV-2.

Avid and Oragenics are beginning the initial phase of the project, which includes analytical method feasibility and qualification activities. Following completion of these initial activities, the companies plan to advance to upstream and downstream process development and drug-substance manufacturing of Terra CoV-2 within Avid’s Myford facility in Tustin, California. These activities are designed to support Oragenics’ goal of advancing its Terra CoV-2 vaccine candidate into human clinical trials by early 2021.

In March 2020, Oragenics, acquired a non-exclusive license from the National Institutes of Health for its stabilized prefusion Terra CoV-2 spike protein. Oragenics recently announced that its spike protein had been successfully inserted into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and “mini-pool” production and analytical development are underway.

Source: Avid Bioservices and Oragenics

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