Manufacturing, Biologic Drugs

The President's Council on Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), a group administered by the federal Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), issued recommendations to improve the country's ability to accelerate vaccine production and delivery in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak.

US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released last week an examination of the federal government's system to produce medical countermeasures, or medications, vaccines, equipment, and supplies needed for a health emergency.

Two new reports describe the vaccine market's recent growth and predict future market expansions.

A new guideline for conducting bioequivalence studies was adopted by the CPMP in January and it becomes fully effective as of August 2010.

The authors describe recent market trends and indicate the likely future direction of the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. This article is part of the 2010 Outsourcing Resources special issue.

Why the primary defence against biosimilars is to develop better molecules that can be launched quickly.

Researchers claim that a dissolving microneedle patch may be able to offer improved vaccination against influenza compared with traditional needles, and also allow people without medical training to easily and safely administer the vaccine.

A new automated factory in Boston (MA, USA) has been developed that uses non-genetically modified green plants to quickly produce large quantities of vaccines and therapeutics.

Growth in the market for monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, and vaccines creates new opportunities for drug companies and suppliers.

Could insect cells offer a faster way of manufacturing pandemic influenza vaccines compared with traditional egg-based methods? According to researchers at the Vienna Institute of BioTechnology (Austria), their new technique could help a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine to reach the market within 3 months from the first isolation of a new influenza strain - traditionally produced vaccines take approximately 6 months.

Florian Krammer explains how a novel technology using insect cells can accelerate the manufacture of pandemic influenza vaccines.

Three companies joined the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's 21st Century Biodefense initiative to establish a flexible vaccine development and production facility.

The US Food and Drug Administration recently published guidance for the characterization and qualification of cell substrates, viral seeds, and other biological materials used to manufacture viral vaccines for human use.

Hoping to prevent the deaths of eight million children over the next decade, Bill and Melinda Gates recently committed $10 billion for child-immunization programs in the world's poorest countries.

Vaccine R&D is surging, but continues to raise manufacturing and regulatory challenges.

Pharmaceutical Technology Europe discusses some of the latest challenges and innovations that are expected to define the future of pharma.

The vaccine sector is challenging for both R&D and manufacturing because a wide variety of technologies and techniques are required — even the largest companies find it difficult to cover all the relevant areas of expertise — and this drives up development costs and often forces companies into multiple collaborations to obtain the required expertise and technologies.

Influenza vaccines can be produced faster using a new insect cell-based technology compared with traditional egg-based processes, according to scientists in Vienna (Austria).

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has agreed to donate 50 million doses of its adjuvanted pandemic influenza A (H1N1) vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Last week, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK, London) agreed to donate 50 million doses of its adjuvanted pandemic influenza A (H1N1) vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO).

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The European Medicines Agency, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and the Heads of Medicines Agencies issued a European strategy for H1N1 vaccine benefit–risk monitoring.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Novartis, sanofi aventis and Baxter International have provided updates regarding the development, manufacture and shipment of pandemic (H1NI) vaccines.

A long-term joint venture between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and China's Jiangsu Walvax Biotech Company hopes to develop and manufacture paediatric vaccines for use in China.

On September 25, the European Medicines Agency's (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended the authorization of two vaccines for use in Europe against the H1N1 influenza: GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) Pandemrix and Novartis's Focetria.

A joint venture between a charity and a pharma giant has led to the creation of the Hilleman Laboratories, which will use a not-for-profit operating model to develop and deliver vaccines to low-income countries.

The FDA has approved four vaccines for the H1N1 influenza virus, while other companies, including UK pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), have reported promising results from clinical studies with a single dose vaccine.

Now expected to obtain its production license during the next few days, an H1N1 vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech (China) has passed the experts' evaluation by the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).

The Czech Republic will no longer purchase the H1N1 flu vaccine from Baxter International.

Scientists have modified a tobacco plant to produce a vaccine for norovirus, the viral infection sometimes referred to as the "cruise ship virus".