Chugai to claim top spot for bio production

Chugai says it is building facilities that will give it the largest
bioreactor capacity for biologicals production - at 85,000L - of
any company in the world by 2007.

Japan's Chugai Pharmaceutical is planning to add a further two 10,000L bioreactors to the original construction plans of biological drug substance production facilities at the Utsunomiya Plant, announced in March of this year.

These bioreactors will be added during the second phase of construction and are expected to be used for the production of MRA, a humanised anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor monoclonal antibody for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, as well as other antibody drug products.

Currently Chugai has two 2,500L bioreactors at its Ukima Plant in Tokyo and two 10,000L bioreactors at Utsunomiya scheduled for initial operation start in January 2004.

Chugai said that the two new bioreactors will allow it to simultaneously produce biologicals for both commercial and clinical trial use. A further two bioreactors will now be commissioned, bringing the number of bioreactors to six to be built during the second phase of construction.

As a result, Chugai will be able to sustain a total capacity of 85,000L, and said this would make it "the world's largest capacity top class biological drug substance production facility for antibody products employing the latest biopharmaceutical techniques."

There are no major changes made to the original target dates for the completion of the second phase of construction, set for the second quarter of 2005, with the plant set to go on-line in first-quarter 2007). The total investment will be approximately Y9.36 billion (€73 million), which is an increase in Y860 million from the original estimate.