Meridian Medical Technologies LLC

Welcome to Endpoints News’ manufacturing briefs, where we bring you essential news on new builds, collaborations, recalls and more. Catalent said it will manufacture Galapagos’ clinical-stage CAR T therapy, dubbed GLPG5101, for upcoming clinical trials. Manufacturing will be done at Catalent’s site in Princeton, NJ, according to the Tuesday release. Kindeva Drug Delivery’s subsidiary Meridian Medical Technologies has secured a $129 million contract to supply DuoDote, an antidote for a chemical nerve agent, to the US Strategic National Stockpile, the company said Jan. 16. Dr. Reddy’s reported 83.6 billion rupees ($967 million) in revenues for the three months ending December 2024, which is 4% up from the 7.1 billion rupees ($82 million) it reported for the same period last year, the company said Thursday. The US contributes to 40% of its quarterly revenue. Solarbiotech, GPC Bio and Eleszto Genetika are consolidating into one company to provide services in biomanufacturing, the companies said Wednesday. The consolidation brings together over 100 engineers, scientists and executives. Afrigen Biologics has received $6.2 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to develop an mRNA vaccine for Rift Valley fever, the company said Monday. Rift Valley fever is spread by mosquitoes, with outbreaks mainly reported in sub-Saharan Africa. Eli Lilly and Merck are collaborating with Purdue University to launch a new manufacturing consortium called the Young Institute Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Consortium, according to a Friday release. It will use technology like AI to improve domestic manufacturing in the US. AGC Biologics will manufacture and supply lentiviral vectors to Adaptimmune for the company to use in its T-cell therapy letetresgene autoleucel, as announced Jan. 16. Genethon and Eukarÿs have partnered to develop a technology to cut the cost of making gene therapies, according to a Thursday release. Eukarÿs will provide its engineered enzyme, dubbed C3P3, and Genethon will design and manufacture AAV vectors and provide its biomanufacturing facilities. In the UK, Bells Healthcare is recalling 17 batches of its cough syrup medicines containing the API dextromethorphan hydrobromide, according to a Tuesday announcement. Foreign material was found in some bottles and was categorized as a Class 2 recall.

St. Louis-based Kindeva snared a $129 million contract to supply the U.S. with the chemical nerve agent antidote autoinjector DuoDote. Meridian Medical Technologies, a unit of CDMO Kindeva, snared a $129 million contract to supply the United States with the chemical nerve agent antidote autoinjector DuoDote.The FDA-approved, dual-chamber autoinjector contains atropine and pralidoxime chloride and is used to counteract the effects of organophosphorus nerve agents and insecticides, the company said in a Jan. 16 press release.Kindeva, a CDMO focused on drug delivery devices, said the DuoDote autoinjectors will be produced and distributed from its fill-finish facility in St. Louis.“This contract underscores the ongoing importance of maintaining readiness against potential threats,” Milton Boyer, Kindeva’s chief executive, said in the release. “With our extensive experience in this space, we are proud to continue supporting the U.S. government’s efforts to protect public health and safety.”Kindeva operates manufacturing and R&D facilities in the U.S. and U.K.  Last year, the company secured a 33 million pound sterling ($42.1 million at the time) contract from the U.K.’s Life Sciences Innovation Manufacturing Fund to boost its inhaler production and sustainability efforts.The grant was part of the country’s move to support the development and production of inhalers that utilize new propellants with lower global warming potential.

Meridian Medical’s DuoDote will be stockpiled as part of the Strategic National Stockpile’s (SNS) CHEMPACK programme. Image credit: Lucky-photographer via Shutterstock. Kindeva Drug Delivery division Meridian Medical Technologies has won a new contract worth up to $129m from the US Government for the supply of its DuoDote chemical nerve agent antidote autoinjectors to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). Managed by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the SNS contains medicines and devices for lifesaving care, which are intended for use as stopgap buffers when the immediate supply of such materials may not be available or sufficient. The DuoDote dual-chamber autoinjector contains atropine and pralidoxime chloride and was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2006. It is indicated for the treatment of poisoning from organophosphorus nerve agents and organophosphorus insecticides. Perhaps the nerve agent most well-known to the general public, sarin has been in use since World War II and became infamous in more recent times for its 2013 use on civilians in Syria during the Bashar al-Assad regime. The DuoDote autoinjectors will be manufactured at Kindeva Drug Delivery’s facility in St Louis, Missouri. They will then be stockpiled and available for rapid deployment as part of the SNS CHEMPACK programme. SNS CHEMPACK is an ASPR initiative in which containers of nerve agent antidotes are placed in secure locations around the US to enable rapid response to chemical incidents. Kindeva CEO Milton Boyer commented: “As a trusted partner to the SNS, this contract underscores the ongoing importance of maintaining readiness against potential threats. “Our long-standing partnership with the SNS reflects our commitment to national preparedness and our ability to deliver crucial medical countermeasures when they are needed most. With our extensive experience in this space, we are proud to continue supporting the US Government’s efforts to protect public health and safety.” Kindeva recently partnered with Emervax to co-develop a vaccine delivery solution for viruses including mpox and yellow fever. Kindeva Drug Delivery was formerly known as 3M Drug Delivery Systems and rebranded itself in 2020, following its acquisition by Altaris Capital Partners in a deal valued at $650m.