With demand increasing for Bristol Myers Squibb’s CAR-T blood cancer treatments Breyanzi and Abecma, the company has worked to increase the production of the labor-intensive, tough-to-manufacture gene therapies.
Wednesday, BMS revealed that it is expanding its cell therapy manufacturing network, taking over a plant in Libertyville, Illinois, currently owned by Novartis.
Five months ago, Novartis said it would halt operations at the site by the end of this year, leaving its 275 employees out of work. But BMS will keep some of the staff intact.
“BMS is committed to employing the best talent in the industry to support increasing demand of our products,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email. “We are continuing to coordinate with Novartis on transition details, which includes hiring of local Novartis employees for the site following the conclusion of their employment with Novartis.”
BMS is leasing the site and purchasing its assets, the spokesperson added. The facility will transition to BMS over the course of 2023, subject to the fulfilment of closing conditions, the company said.
It will increase BMS’ viral vector production, complementing external partnerships and allowing the company to manufacture “current and next-generation vector technology,” BMS’ Karin Shanahan, executive vice president of global product development and supply, said in a release.
Source : Fierce Pharma
