Contract manufacturing news in brief

French drug maker Solvay Pharma and Russian contract manufacturer Pharmstandard​ have announced they signed a product licence and manufacturing deal, which covers the production of two of Solvay's drugs, Imudon and IRS 19, in Russia. The firms said the first phase of the deal includes the import of the two compounds, the formulation, tabletting and packaging for Imudon and the formulation, filling and packaging for IRS 19 by Pharmstandard. In Phase II of the agreement, the manufacturing of the products will be launched at Pharmstandard. The company has the right to purchase from Solvay the intellectual property rights, the process, the know-how and the trademarks of the products. The option can be executed after the implementation of Phase II. Also in the news this week, Sancilio​ said it is expanding the analytical services offered through its Florida-based analytical chemistry lab. Leading the move will be Dr Nealie Newberger, who was previously in charge of the company's Analytical Services Laboratory business. Sancilio specialises in stability testing, shelf-life determination and trending, method development, verification and method validation. Meanwhile, Althea Technologies​ has recently been picked by US-based firm GeoVax Labs to manufacture clinical supplies of its DNA-based vaccine for the treatment of AIDS. Phase II trials of the drug are expected to kick off next year. The firm had also outsourced the production of its other HIV-1 MVA (Modified Vaccinia Virus) vaccine to BioReliance. GeoVax' vaccines are designed to prevent development of the disease caused by the virus known as HIV-1 by vaccinating individuals prior to AIDS virus infection.