Biogen Idec has sold its royalty and other rights relating to Benlysta (belimumab), for treating systemic lupus erythematosus, to a DRI Capital-managed fund. Biogen Idec’s entitlement results from a license agreement with the GlaxoSmithKline subsidiaries Human Genome Sciences (HGS) and Glaxo Group Limited. Under the agreement between Biogen Idec and DRI, HGS and Glaxo Group Limited will make royalty payments directly to DRI instead of to Biogen Idec. DRI will in turn pay Biogen Idec a multiple of certain of the royalties received for the period covering October 2011 to September 2014. Following that period, DRI will retain the royalty payments from the sales of Benlysta, with certain exceptions, including a one-time contingency payment that could be triggered if the cumulative royalties to DRI exceed an agreed amount. Read More

Cambridge Major Laboratories (CML) is planning a significant expansion of its large-scale API manufacturing facility in Germantown, Wisconsin. The expansion comes three years after commissioning the new site. The expansion will include additional reactor capacity as well as isolation equipment. Alongside capacity additions, CML has made additional investments in engineering controls to ensure the sustainability of the business. Read More

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals has completed the acquisition of Allos Therapeutics on Sept. 5, 2012 through a short-form merger of Sapphire Acquisition Sub, a wholly owned subsidiary of Spectrum, with and into Allos, with Allos surviving the merger and continuing as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Spectrum. Read More

Takeda Pharmaceutical has completed construction of its pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Yaroslavl, Russia. The company has invested approximately EUR 75 million ($96.4 million) in the 24,000-m² (258,334 ft²) production plant, which the company expects to be fully operational by 2014. The plant will have initial capacity to manufacture 90 million ampuls and more than two billion tablets per year.

A roundup of additional company and people news from pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, their suppliers, and contract-service providers. Read More