WuXi STA has added two 2,000 L reactors and a large-scale continuous purification system for peptide manufacturing at its Changzhou campus, bringing the total reactor volume for solid-phase peptide synthesis to over 10,000 L. It has also added a new system that features 300-DAC twin columns for continuous purification of kilogram-scale peptides and oligonucleotides, with faster turnaround times and lower solvent consumption.

Bachem, the world market leader in peptides, has automated and digitalised one of its core business processes, solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). The company describes this as the start of its journey to Industry 4.0. The process is described in detail on the company website (www.bachem.com/news/bachem-journey-to-industry-4-0/).

CEM and AmbioPharm, two firms based in the Carolinas, have formed a partnership for the production of GMP peptides for the pharmaceutical industry. Under this, AmbioPharm will have exclusive rights to use CEM’s large-scale microwave technology for solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) at up to multi-kilogram quantities using proprietary scalable reactors.

Bachem, the world’s largest peptides manufacturer, has announced some results of two studies it carried out with Novo Nordisk, seeking to make solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) greener.

SPPS requires large volumes of solvents and the current gold standards, because of their excellent solubilisation and stability properties for reagents and resin swelling capabilities, are N-dimethylformamide (DMF), dichloromethane and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. All now face restrictions under REACH because of their hazardous nature.

CordenPharma has announced the approval of a long-term expansion initiative “to further increase our flexibility, efficiency and ultimately, cost-effective production” at its solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) in Boulder, Colorado. This follows the installation of an extra-large 3,000L SPPS vessel at the site earlier this year in response to growing demand for peptide APIs.

CordenPharma is to expand non-GMP solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) capacity at its centre of excellence for peptide process development and non-GMP manufacturing at Frankfurt, Germany. This should be complete in Q3 2021. The amount invested has not been disclosed.

The investment will increase lab space by 25% and add a dedicated explosionproof area. The latter will be supported by a tank farm, which, the company said, “will allow for the introduction of regular solvents, as well as compatibility with our green peptide manufacturing”.

CordenPharma has announced the addition of a 3,000-litre solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) vessel at its GMP API facility in Boulder, Colorado. This site, which was formerly owned by Roche, already has a 10,000-litre SPPS vessel and a 100 cm high-pressure reverse phase purification column, and is claimed to have the largest capacity of any peptide API facility.