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Supplier News: Bachem, Curia, Abzena, Avid & More 

The latest from CDMOs, CMOs, and suppliers featuring Bachem, Curia, MilliporeSigma, Abzena, Argonaut Manufacturing Servies, BioDuro, Avid Bioservices, and UPS.  

Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing 
* Curia Completes $4-M Investment To Upgrade API Aseptic Suites
Biologics Manufacturing 
* MilliporeSigna, Promega Partner in 3-D Cell Drug-Discovery Technologies 
* Abzena, Mabqi Partner for Antibody Services 
Appointments 
* Bachem Names New CEO
* Argonaut Manufacturing Services Names CEO
* Bioduro Names Global President
* Avid Bioservices Names Chief Technology &Transformation Officer 
General 
* UPS Acquires Andlauer Healthcare for $1.6 Bn To Expand Healthcare Logistics 

Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing 

Curia Completes $4-M Investment To Upgrade API Aseptic Suites 
Curia has completed a $4-million investment to upgrade its two active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) aseptic suites in Valladolid, Spain. The investment aligns with the latest European Union’s Annex 1 standards. Annex 1 provides general guidance for the design and control of facilities, equipment, systems, and procedures used for the manufacture of all sterile products, applying the principles of Quality Risk Management to prevent microbial, particulate, and endotoxin contamination in the final product. 

Source: Curia 

Biologics Manufacturing 

MilliporeSigna, Promega Partner in 3-D Cell Drug-Discovery Technologies 
MilliporeSigma has entered into a partnership with Promega Corporation, a Madison, Wisconsin-based provider of life-science products and services to co-develop  technologies that advance drug screening and discovery. 

The agreement combines MilliporeSigma’s position in organoids and synthetic chemistry with Promega’s assay and reporter technologies. Together, the companies aim to develop assays capable of tracking cellular activity in real time using an innovative reporter system within three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures. These 3D cell cultures, also called organoids, mimic the human biology, where testing can be done in a model that is physiologically more relevant than traditional two-dimensional models, according to the companies.  

In addition to the primary co-development agreement, MilliporeSigma and Promega have signed a separate agreement to explore the integration of MilliporeSigma’s Duolink proximity ligation assay with Promega’s HiBiT technologies for protein tagging to create new workflows for studying protein interactions inside cells and providing deeper insights into cellular signalling and supporting applications in both biologics and small-molecule drug discovery. 

Source: MilliporeSigma and Promega 

Abzena, Mabqi Partner for Antbody Services 
Abzena, a San Diego, California-based CDMO of biologics and antibody drug conjugates, and Mabqi, an antibody-focused company, have entered an agreement that will integrate Mabqi’s antibody discovery capabilities with Abzena’s development and manufacturing services. 

The partnership’s combined offerings will use Mabqi’s LiteMab antibody discovery studio for hit screening, characterization, and hit selection by using universal & pH-sensitive libraries to identify top lead candidates, and use Abzena’s capabilities for developability, cell-line development, process development, and GMP manufacturing. The capabilities apply to a broad range of modalities, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), mAb fragments, bi- and multi-specifics, and bioconjugates. 

Source: Abzena 

Appointments 

Bachem Names New CEO 
The Board of Directors of Bachem, a CDMO of peptides and oligonucleotides, has appointed Anne-Kathrin Stoller, currently Head of Bachem Americas and previously the company’s long-standing Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), as its new CEO, effective January 1, 2026. She succeeds Thomas Meier, who, after more than 30 years at Bachem and nearly six years as CEO, is leaving the company. 

Stoller has been working for Bachem since 2006. After holding various management positions, including Head of Business Development & Sales Europe, Chief Marketing Officer, and member of the Executive Committee, she took on the role of Chief Operating Officer Americas in 2022 and is responsible for the company’s US business.  

Source: Bachem 

Argonaut Manufacturing Services Names CEO  
Argonaut Manufacturing Services, a CDMO specializing in aseptic drug-product manufacturing and the manufacturing of life-science and diagnostic products, has appointed Rick Hancock, current member of the company’s Board, as CEO. He has than 40 years of leadership experience in CDMOs and pharmaceutical development companies and has served on Argonaut’s Board of Directors for the past nine years.  

Source: Argonaut Manufacturing Services 

Bioduro Names Global President, CMC 
BioDuro, an Irvine, California-based CDMO, has announced the appointment of Yaohui Ji, currently Senior Vice President & General Manager of Porton’s global small-molecule CDMO business, as Global President, CMC. In this role, Ji will lead BioDuro’s global chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) organization to drive strategic planning, operations, and the continued expansion of the company’s development and manufacturing capabilities. 

Ji brings nearly two decades of leadership experience across global pharmaceutical companies and CDMOs, including Roche US, Novartis, WuXi STA, and Porton Pharma Solutions. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President & General Manager of Porton’s global small-molecule CDMO business, where he led a $300-million division with over 1,500 employees across the US, Europe, and China. 

Source: BioDuro 

Avid Bioservices Names Chief Technology &Transformation Officer 
Avid Bioservices, a biologics CDMO, has announced the appointment of Dave Stewart, most recently Senior Vice President, Capital Projects, Eli Lilly and Company, as Chief Technology and Transformation Officer, a newly created role.  

In this new role, Stewart will lead Avid’s integration of technology and process transformation initiatives across Avid’s development and manufacturing network. His focus will include digital modernization, automation, and integration of new advanced tools and service capabilities across Avid’s development and manufacturing network.  

Most recently, Stewart held roles leading global engineering and project execution, supply and operational readiness at Fujifilm Biotechnologies in Denmark and Holly Springs, North Carolina, and as GM/Site Head of AGC Biologics in Boulder, Colorado. He was Site Quality Head of Biogen’s manufacturing facility in Solothurn, Switzerland, and was with Genentech in Oceanside, California, as Head of Manufacturing Sciences & Technology, responsible for Process Engineering, Product Technical Transfer, Lab and Pilot Plant operations, Automation Engineering and Technical Validation. 

Source: Avid Bioservices 

General 

UPS Acquires Andlauer Healthcare for $1.6 Bn To Expand Healthcare Logistics 
UPS has completed its acquisition of Andlauer Healthcare Group, a provider of third-party logistics and specialized cold-chain transportation services, for the healthcare sector, for $1.6 billion.  

Source: UPS