The firm – a unit of India’s Dishman – set out its ADC plan this week, explaining that it has set up a dedicated clean room and clinical supply suite at its plant in Bubendorf, Switzerland and spent almost $1m (Eur 739,000) to upgrade a sterile manufacturing area at its facility in Riom, France.
News of the investment follows just a few weeks after Carbogen Amcis set up a formal collaboration with St Asaph, Wales-based ADC Biotechnology in a deal designed to meld the latter’s solid phase immobilisation production technology with its manufacturing capacity.
Like most of the contract manufacturing organisations (CMO) that have invested in ADC technology recently – Novasep, Piramal and Lonza to name three – Carbogen Amcis expects the market for this type of product to grow significantly.
When the ADC Biotechnology deal was signed Carbogen Amcis predicted that: "The commercial value of the ADC drug market is projected to reach $5 billion by 2015" and added that "several ADCs are in late-phase trials, with over 60 in pre-clinical testing."
This optimism was echoed by CEO Mark Griffiths for the latest announcement. He cited drugs like Takeda’s Adcetris – which is approved in Europe and the US – Roche’s Kadcyla – cleared in the US and under review in Europe – and Pfizer’s Mylotarg – never approved by the EMA and withdrawn in the US – as key drivers for the investment.
Griffiths said the three drugs “have fueled a growing demand for ADCs and we made the decision to expand our ADC service offer to support customers in the development of next-generation cancer treatments.”
He added that: “We have taken into account customer feedback and market dynamics and are confident that our enhanced infrastructure will enable us to provide our partners in the pharmaceutical industry a needed resource in drug development.”
Carbogen Amcis did not respond to requests for more information ahead of publication.