The company, a subsidiary of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, said that the expansion in bioreacter capacity has come about after a number of new manufacturing contracts. For example, at the end of November, the company disclosed a new agreement with an unnamed company to supply clinical supplies of a non-antibody protein.
"This bioreactor will substantially increase our capabilities for the current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies and other recombinant proteins," said Jay Treat, Avid's vice president of business development.
Avid said that the reactor will be used in a number of manufacturing modes using its existing water-for-injection and clean steam systems. The company is currently taking orders for productions runs at the 1,000L scale for production slots in August 2004 and later.