Lundbeck to stop making Elspar citing cost of securing API supply

By Gareth Macdonald

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Lundbeck to halt Elpar production on API supply costs
Lundbeck has decided to stop making a cancer drug deeming the cost of securing API supplies too big and the likelihood to regulatory acceptance too small. 

The drug in question is the acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treatment Elspar, which Lundbeck gained through its acquisition of Ovation Pharmaceuticals in 2009.

In a letter sent to US physicians yesterday the Danish drugmaker said it would stop production and distribution by the end of the year, describing it as “not a sustainable business going forward​.”

Company VP of supply chain management Roger Keding explained that Lundbeck has struggled to secure supplies of the Elspar active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) – asparaginase- since acquiring the product.

We have invested significant resources transferring the formulation to a new product source and developing new analytical procedures to comply with FDA/GMP/ICH standards. Despite our diligent efforts we have continued to experience periodic supply interruptions​.”

He also said that: “Recent development activities have led us to the conclusion that securing future long-term sourcing for the active substance and the drug product would require additional investment and significant changes to underlying process and specifications​.”

Keding did not specify what changes but did say that regulatory acceptance of such changes would be 'highly uncertain​.'

Alternative forms of asparaginase are available - Erwinaze, sold by a unit of Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Oncaspar by Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals - and the drug is not one of those deemed to be in short supply by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA​).

Whether the FDA will contact alternate suppliers – as it did when Sanofi Pasteur halted production of its cancer treatment TheraCys BCG Live (Intavesical)​ which is on the list – remains unclear.

Regulatory concerns

While Elspar is a legacy product that – according to a Dow Jones report​ – generates only one per cent of Lundbeck revenues and is a minor part of its business, the firm’s comments about ‘highly uncertain’ regulatory acceptance are a concern because at present – according to the newswire - the drug is produced by an unnamed contract manufacturing organisation (CMO).

The relationship between pharmas and their CMOs have been under considerable scrutiny in recent years after manufacturing quality problems at a number of contractors resulted in drug shortages, garnering criticism for all involved.

Such issues – and a recent report​ that criticised the FDA for its role in the shortages – prompted the agency to clamp down on pharmas that only work with a limited number of suppliers​.

While there is no suggestion its CMO suffered quality problems, Lundbeck's decision to stop making Elspar rather than invest may indicate that regulatory efforts to address shortages will discourage the production of important drugs if pharmas have API sourcing difficulties or only a limited number of contractors.

Related news

Show more

Related products

show more

Increasing the Bioavailability of Oncology Drugs

Increasing the Bioavailability of Oncology Drugs

Content provided by Lonza Small Molecules | 13-Nov-2023 | White Paper

Oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are a class of cancer drugs that can be highly susceptible to issues with solubility in the gastrointestinal tract

Efficient Freezing & Storage of Biopharmaceuticals

Efficient Freezing & Storage of Biopharmaceuticals

Content provided by Single Use Support | 06-Nov-2023 | White Paper

Various options exist for freezing biopharmaceutical bulk material, but selecting the most effective and efficient approach for each cold chain can be...

Manufacturing Drugs with Highly Potent APIs

Manufacturing Drugs with Highly Potent APIs

Content provided by Altasciences | 28-Sep-2023 | White Paper

In this issue of The Altascientist, we examine the critical considerations for the safe and compliant manufacture of drugs with highly potent APIs (HPAPIs),...

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars