Welcome to
Endpoints News’
manufacturing briefs, where we bring you essential news on new builds, collaborations, recalls and more.
Astellas Gene Therapies is shuttering its facility
in San Francisco and shifting the work to another site in Sanford, NC, the company told
Endpoints News
in an email. The closure is expected to complete by March next 2025 and will affect around 100 employees. According to WARN notices, 17 workers have been terminated so far. The decision to wind down the site came on the back of the company evaluating its capacity for making adeno-associated viruses. The story was first
reported
by
BioSpace
.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration is upping
its
production limit
for Takeda’s ADHD drug Vyvanse and its generic versions by 24% to tackle ongoing drug shortages for the condition. The problem dates back to October 2022, when Teva Pharmaceuticals’ Adderall was hit with manufacturing delays, increasing demand for Takeda’s norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor. Vyvanse is classified as a schedule II controlled substance.
Eli Lilly is working with EVA Pharma
to
expand
access to its JAK inhibitor Olumiant in certain low and middle-income African countries. The pharma company will license some of its manufacturing know-how to EVA, which will then make the drug locally and start selling it in 2026. Olumiant is used for rheumatoid arthritis and alopecia areata, among other conditions.
China’s National Healthcare Security Administration has cut
Dr. Reddy’s
from its bulk-buy drug program after it identified “
serious defects
” in manufacturing operations during an inspection. These included problems with the management of raw materials, process validation and quality control. The Indian pharma is now banned from the program through Feb. 28, 2026.
Thermo Fisher is opening a new global business services center
in Manila, Philippines, to provide customer service support for its healthcare and biotech customers. The new office will create 100 jobs in the short term, and the company has plans to bring aboard more than 450 staffers there by the end of 2026.
Aspen Pharmacare’s full-year revenues have jumped
10% due in part to strong
manufacturing
performance. The South African company’s manufacturing revenue grew 25% from the previous year to ZAR 307 million ($17.2 million), driven by sales from finished dose forms.
Bend Bioscience is
joining up
with
CoreRx and Societal CDMO to
form
a combined development and manufacturing services company. The new CDMO, which will keep the Bend Bioscience moniker, will have facilities in Bend, OR; Clearwater, FL; and Gainesville, GA. The announcement follows CoreRx’s
$130 million buyout
of Societal CDMO in February.
Antibody manufacturer Leinco Technologies has acquired
QED Biosciences in a
deal
with undisclosed financials. QED supplies recombinant proteins, antibodies and antigens for
in vitro
diagnostic and research purposes.
Japan-based Otsuka Pharmaceutical
was
handed
a Form 483 after an inspection between March 13 and March 22, according to a document published on the FDA website Friday. Inspectors found five issues, including equipment cleaning concerns and failure to investigate unexplained issues in drug batches.
Indian API manufacturer Global Calcium
also
received
a Form 483 from the FDA after an inspection at its site in Tamil Nadu, India between July 29 and Aug. 2. The seven-page letter detailed six observations from the FDA inspectors, including equipment contamination issues and failure to keep complete records.
Cellares has
appointed
Justin McAnear as its new CFO
, the company said Tuesday. McAnear was previously the CFO at 10x Genomics, having held prior executive positions at Tesla and Google. Cellares is also appointing Jonathan Butler, who most recently worked at Tesla and Lucid Motors, as its general counsel.
The World Health Organization on Tuesday
published
its first ever guidance on how antibiotic manufacturing can cause pollution and spread antibiotic resistance. The guidance is for regulatory bodies, inspection regulators, manufacturers and waste management services. It outlines how to reduce waste from all stages of manufacturing, from API production to finished products and packaging.
CDMO Rentschler Biopharma has
expanded
its services to add lentiviral vector manufacturing at its site in Stevenage, UK, according to a Tuesday release.