Avista Pharma Solutions to Manufacture Small Molecule to Treat Opioid Addiction

The Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation (MMRF), a nonprofit subsidiary of the Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc. in Minneapolis, has contracted Avista Pharma Solutions to manufacture an opioid-derived small molecule, a key component of a conjugate vaccine in development to treat opioid addiction. In a May 15, 2017 press release, the company said the research is funded by a three-year grant to the MMRF from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Avista Pharma is registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to handle controlled substances, such as opioids. The manufacturing process to synthesize the small molecule, including cGMP production, also aligns with the services provided by the company’s Durham facility.

Through this collaboration, MMRF now has the small molecule component required to optimize the bioconjugation stage of the synthetic vaccine’s overall manufacturing process. GMP production of the molecule and associated conjugate vaccine to support clinical development will follow shortly thereafter.