DSM's pharma products business wins allergy drug process dev contract
Under the deal – financial terms of which were not provided – the DSM unit will work on production processes for the drug candidate – an Fc-fusion protein for the treatment of asthma and other allergy-based diseases – at its plant in Groningen, in the Netherlands.
The aim is to transfer production to DSM’s recently opened manufacturing facility in Brisbane, Australia in collaboration with the subsidiary San Francisco, US-based Tunitas established in Melbourne earlier this year.
Manja Bouman, President of DSM Biologics, commented “It is an honour to support the development of Tunitas' promising drug candidate from our facilities in Groningen and Australia.
“We are impressed with the potential of this product and the health benefit to treat the millions of patients whose asthma is poorly-controlled on their current therapeutic regimens."
Australia
If all goes well, the Tunitas contract will be the fifth that DSM will fulfil at the Brisbane site, which was officially opened in April and has been operational since June.
It may also be one of the last DSM’s Pharmaceutical Products (DPP) unit conducts at the Brisbane facility as a sole subsidiary of Royal DSM.
Two weeks ago the Dutch firm announced that DPP will merge with Patheon in an agreement that will see the Canada based contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) take a controlling stake in the new entity.
DPP consists of DSM Pharma chemicals, DSM Exclusive Synthesis, DSM BioSolutions and DSM Biologics, with the latter unit operating the Australina plant.
While specifics of the merger have not been disclosed, it has been framed as a combination of “DSM’s business group DSM Pharmaceutical Products with Patheon” which includes DSM Biologics.
