Supplier News: WuXi Biologics, PharmaBlock, Fujifilm & More
The latest from CDMOs, CMOs, and suppliers featuring WuXi Biologics, PharmaBlock, Fujifilm, Axplora, Cytovance Biologics, Northway Biotech, Schott Pharma, Barentz, and Symeres.
Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing
* PharmaBlock Commissions Pilot-Scale Peptide Plant
* Axplora Consolidates Ursodeoxycholic Acid Production at Indian Site
* Barentz Opens Pharma Office in Pennsylvania
Biologics Manufacturing
* WuXi Biologics Advances Drug-Product Mfg Facility at Singapore Campus
* Cytovance Biologics Launches Cell-Line Development Services
* Northway Biotech Expands Cell Therapy Capacity in Lithuania
Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing
* Symeres Expands Spray-Drying Capacity
Packaging
* Schott Expands Vial Production Capacity
Appointements
* Fujifilm Announces Leadership Changes
Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing
PharmaBlock Commissions Pilot-Scale Peptide Plant
PharmaBlock Sciences, a Nanjing, China-based CDMO, has announced the commissioning of its first peptide pilot-scale GMP plant at its Zhejiang manufacturing site in China.
The facility is equipped with a core cluster of solid-phase peptide synthesis reactors with a total volume of 600 L, comprising 100-L, 200-L, and 300 -L configurations. The platform integrates automated fluid=handling systems and high-purity inert gas protection technology. The facility is equipped with two integrated cleavage systems, which are constructed with corrosion-resistant materials to enable fully enclosed processing from cleavage and concentration to precipitation.
Source: PharmaBlock
Axplora Consolidates Ursodeoxycholic Acid Production at Indian Site
Axplora, a CDMO of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and antibody drug conjugates, has announced the consolidation of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) manufacturing at its site in Vizag, India site, part of the PharmaZell business unit. Production will transition fully from the company’s Gropello Cairoli, Italy, site by the end of 2026. UDCA is a bile acid-derived API used in therapies for chronic liver and gallbladder diseases.
Source: Axplora
Barentz Opens Pharma Office in Pennsylvania
Barentz, a Hoofddorp, the Netherlands-based specialty ingredients distributor, has opened a new office for its Pharmaceuticals Division in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania. The new office will serve as a central hub for Barentz’s pharma activities in North America.
Source: Barentz
Biologics Manufacturing
WuXi Biologics Advances Drug-Product Mfg Facility at Singapore Campus
WuXi Biologics, a WuXi, China-based CDMO of biologic drug substances and drug products, has completed the topping out of the company’s drug-product facility at its contract research, development and manufacturing (CRDMO) hub in Singapore, which will feature both drug-substance and drug-product manufacturing.
Spanning approximately 30,000 square meters, the modular drug-product facility will feature advanced manufacturing lines, centralized quality control labs for full release and stability testing, and manufacturing science and technology labs. It will have three prefilled syringe lines and two vial lines for liquid and lyophilized products for multiple dosage forms across clinical and commercial stages. Operations are expected to commence in 2027.
Located on a 13.5-hectare site in Tuas Biomedical Park, the hub will also add 120,000 liters of biomanufacturing capacity to the company’s global network. Construction across the Singapore CRDMO hub continues to advance, with the drug-substance facility currently in the design phase.
Source: WuXi Biologics
Cytovance Biologics Launches Cell-Line Development Services
Cytovance Biologics, a CDMO of biologics, has announced the expansion of its mammalian cell-culture capabilities with the addition of cell-line development services. The company also recently added in-house formulation development services.
Source: Cytovance Biologics
Northway Biotech Expands Cell Therapy Capacity in Lithuania
Northway Biotech, a CDMO of cell therapies, is finalizing the installation of a new EUR 61-million ($70-million) 3,500-square-meter Innovative Cell Therapy and Personalized Medicine Center in Vilnius, Lithuania. The center is being built by Kamieninių ląstelių tyrimų centras (Stem Cell Research Center), a company belonging to the Northway group of companies. The complex will officially open and commence operations as early as the third quarter of this year (2026).
Source: Northway Biotech
Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing
Symeres Expands Spray-Drying Capacity
Symeres, a Nigmegen, the Netherlands-based provider of drug-discovery and development services, has announced the expansion of its spray-drying capabilities at its Cranbury, New Jersey, CMC development site. The Cranbury site now supports both laboratory-scale and pilot-scale spray-drying workflows.
Source: Symeres
Packaging
Schott Expands Vial Production Capacity
Schott Pharma, a provider of drug-containment products and drug-delivery systems for injectable drugs, has inaugurated new production lines for both standard and sterile ready-to-use glass vials designed to store a wide range of drugs.
The more than $60-million investment was largely funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to ensure reliable domestic production of critical primary packaging. BARDA is part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response under the US Department of Health and Human Services. The expansion increases the site’s annual production capacity for core vials while more than tripling local capacity for high-value solutions.
Source: Schott Pharma
Appointments
Fujifilm Announces Leadership Changes
Fujifilm Holdings America Corporation has announced additional leadership responsibilities for three leaders in its Life Sciences Group companies.
Tomoyuki Hasegawa, currently General Manager of Fujifilm Life Sciences Strategic Office and Chairman and CEO of Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics, a developer and manufacturer of human-induced pluripotent stem cells used in drug discovery, toxicity testing, stem-cell banking, and cell-therapy development, will continue in those roles. He will also now serve as CEO of Fujifilm Biotechnologies California. Fujifilm Biotechnologies is a CDMO of biologics with global locations in the US, UK, Denmark, and the Netherlands. He has been with Fujifilm for over 25 years, serving in several leadership roles throughout the company, both in Japan and the US.
Delara Motlagh, Chief Operating Officer of Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics, also will serve as its President, taking on additional responsibilities for overseeing the business. Motlagh brings more than two decades of industry experience spanning life sciences, strategic leadership, and expertise in cell and gene therapy. Prior to joining Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics, she held senior leadership positions at Catalent Pharma Solutions, Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies, and Baxter Healthcare.
Source: Fujifilm
