UCB, which recently pulled off a $2.5 billion for an autoimmune drug candidate, says it sees the need for more biopharma production. To fill it, it will build a €300 million ($333 million) facility and staff it with 150 new workers.
The Belgium company says work on the facility will begin soon at its site in Braine l’Alleud, Wallonia, Belgium. The plant is slated to be operational in 2024.
It said the biotechnology plant is needed for the future launch of monoclonal antibody drug therapies in clinical development.
“The shift of our pipeline towards large molecules requires us to ramp up investment in mammalian technical development, as well as our manufacturing capabilities,” Kirsten Lund-Jurgensen, head of supply and technology at UCB, said in a statement.
The announcement comes just two months after UCB struck a deal to acquire Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech Ra Pharmaceuticals. With the takeover, UCB will get a phase 3 rival to Alexion’s Soliris that analysts have pegged to hit blockbuster sales.
The Ra drug candidate is focused on a once-daily, self-administered, subcutaneous C5 inhibitor called zilucoplan which is in phase 3 trials for myasthenia gravis.
MG is a long-term autoimmune neuromuscular condition that causes muscle weakness, particularly affecting the face, but can also extend to the arms legs and neck in more severe cases, known as generalized MG. It can cause difficulties with swallowing, speaking and breathing and in some cases these can become severe—known as a myasthenic crisis—and require hospitalization.
By Eric Palmer
Source: Fierce Pharma
Novo Nordisk has announced that the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has provided a positive opinion for the company’s Sogroya therapy. The once-weekly treatment – also known as somapacitan – is for the replacement of endogenous growth hormone (GH) in aged children three years and older.
Medtronic is set to acquire EOFlow, the South Korea-based maker of an insulin patch pump. In its announcement of the deal Thursday, Medtronic suggested that integrating the tubeless device with its own continuous glucose monitors and meal-detection algorithm could create a new closed-loop system for largely hands-off diabetes management.
Apnimed started the year by bagging nearly $80 million in extended series C funds and the momentum has kept up, with the sleep-apnea-focused biotech nailing its goals in a phase 2 study. “For those who cannot tolerate current treatments, AD109 has the potential to be a convenient, oral pill that could improve people’s quality of life both at night and during the day.”
