Supplier News: Fujifilm Irvine Scientific, Pace Life Sciences, Sartorius & More
The latest from CDMOs, CMOs, and suppliers featuring Sartorius, Fujifilm Irvine Scientific, Cytovance, Polypeptide, Pace Life Sciences, BioCina, NovaCina, Almac, Trenchant and Autolomus.
Biologics Manufacturing
* Fujifilm Irvine Sells Medical Media Business to Private Equity Firm
* CDMOs Cytovance, Polypeptide Form Peptide Alliance
* CDMOs BioCina and NovaCina Merge
* Sartorius, McMaster University Co-Open Bioprocessing Lab
* Trenchant, Autolomus Partner for Cell- & Gene-Therapy Technologies
Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing
* Pace Life Sciences To Expand Sterile Fill-Finish Capacity
General
* Almac Invests in Analytical Instrumentation
Biologics Manufacturing
Fujifilm Irvine Scientific Sells Medical Media Business to Private Equity Firm
Fujifilm Irvine Scientific, a provider of cell-culture media, has entered into an agreement to sell its Medical Media Business Unit (MBU) to Astorg, a private equity firm.
The MBU consists of products used for in vitro fertilization (IVF), infertility research, and cytogenetic analysis. This acquisition builds on Astorg’s recently taking private Hamilton Thorne, and its simultaneous acquisition of Cook Medical’s Reproductive Health business, expanding the product portfolio of Astorg’s new global MedTech company serving the assisted reproductive technology and IVF industry. The sale is expected to close on April 1, 2025.
Source: Fujifilm Irvine Scientific
CDMOs Cytovance, Polypeptide Form Peptide Alliance
Cytovance Biologics, an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based CDMO of biologics, and PolyPeptide, a Torrance, California-based CDMO of peptides, have announced a partnership that combines Cytovance’s expertise in microbial and mammalian expression, process development and cGMP manufacturing with PolyPeptide’s capabilities in complex peptide development and manufacturing.
Source: Cytovance Biologics
CDMOs BioCina and NovaCina Merge
BioCina, an Adelaide, Australia-based CDMO of biologics, and NovaCina, a CDMO of sterile injectable drug products, have agreed to merge.
The combined company, which will retain the BioCina name, will be integrated to provide an end-to-end offering, from cell-line development and process development to clinical and commercial drug substance and sterile fill–finish of drug products.
The merger integrates BioCina’s process development and manufacturing for microbial, plasmid DNA, and mRNA modalities at the Adelaide, South Australia facility, with NovaCina’s Perth, Western Australia facility, a sterile fill–finish plant that has produced more than 600 biologic and small-molecule products.
Source: BioCina
Sartorius, McMaster University Co-Open Bioprocessing Lab
Sartorius, a provider of products and services for the life-sciences industry, including bioprocessing, and McMaster University have opened a new bioprocessing automation lab at the university’s Faculty of Engineering in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
The 1,600-square-foot research facility will serve as a training and development hub, where McMaster students and Sartorius employees will work with other industry partners to accelerate developments in bioprocess modelling, simulation, and advanced control.
The partnership started in 2019, when Sartorius joined the McMaster Advanced Control Consortium (MACC). In 2021, both partners teamed up to improve manufacturing processes of antibody and virus-based treatments for diseases, such as COVID-19, cancers, and genetic disorders. Since then, the company has provided training opportunities for students at its research and development facilities in North America and Europe.
Source: Sartorius
Trenchant, Autolomus Partner for Cell- & Gene-Therapy Technologies
Trenchant BioSystems, a cell- and gene-therapy platform provider, and Autolomous, a cell- and gene-therapy software platform developer, have announced that their platforms will be combined under the terms of a long-term partnership agreement.
As a result of the partnership, Trenchant BioSystems will integrate Autolomous’ autoloMATE digital solution into its automated manufacturing platform that has been designed for distributed manufacturing at competent medical facilities globally. This will deliver to the market the first manufacturing process in a single, compact chassis and fully automated, combined with a digital platform that automates batch records and captures manufacturing performance and lot-release data in real time.
Source: Autolomus
Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing
Pace Life Sciences To Expand Sterile Fil–Finish Capacity
Pace Life Sciences, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based CDMO, has announced expansions to the company’s facilities in Salem, New Hampshire, and Oakdale, Minnesota, to add sterile fill–finish capacity and enhanced analytical capabilities.
The Oakdale campus was awarded a grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) in 2024 to help fund its expansion. The site will remain operational during construction and will add 8,000 square feet for testing drugs reaching the commercial phase of production and is expected to create more than 50 new jobs. The expansion includes a dedicated RNase-free environment and cell-based assay support. Upon completion, the Salem, New Hampshire, facility will be classified as a Center of Excellence for Sterile Fill–Finish processing.
Source: Pace Life Sciences
General
Almac Invests in Analytical Instrumentation
Almac Sciences, a member of the Almac Group, has invested £500,000 ($614,000) in instrumentation within its spectroscopy laboratories at its global headquarters in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. The Craigavon laboratories house mass spectrometers, X-ray powder diffractometers as well as nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers.
This latest investment is in addition to the company’s announcement in October 2024 of an £11 million ($14 million) investment to expand Almac’s global analytical services capabilities, which includes the creation of 100 jobs.
Source: Almac Group