Taiwan-based ScinoPharm is to invest NT$1.14 billion (about $37.6 million) into the construction of a manufacturing plant for injectable cancer drugs at its facility on the Tainan Science Park. Completion of construction is projected in 2014.
The new plant will house R&D and GMP manufacturing operations, as well as quality control, sterilization, filling, lyophilization, packaging, and storage. ScinoPharm says the facility will include two separate production lines: one for producing and packaging liquid and lyophilized vials of cytotoxic drugs, and a second area for prefilled syringes of noncytotoxic products. It says this capability has been included in response to a current shortage of capacity in the market.
ScinoPharm is a process R&D and API manufacturer to the global pharma industry, offering a range of services from custom synthesis for early-phase drug development to API manufacture for the generics industry. “By expanding into the field of oncological injectable formulation, ScinoPharm will be able to provide a vertically integrated, one-stop-shop service for our existing API customers,” states Jo Shen, Ph.D., president and CEO. “The global demand for oncological injectable production capacity far exceeds the supply. Many international generic customers of ours have been eagerly searching for partners who can provide a high-quality and stable supply of oncological injectable drug products.”