Breaking Ground in Two Hemophilia Drug Construction Plants

Two new hemophilia drug plant construction plans were initiated over the summer by separate manufacturers, headlines said.

In May, Bayer HealthCare broke ground in May on a $100 million product testing facility for hemophilia A drugs in Berkeley, California. The structure, which is replacing an existing older building, is estimated to be 80,000 square feet across three stories and should be completed in 2017. The company already makes and tests Kogenate FS, a German based company’s drug with sales of about $1.1 billion, according to reports.

In December, Bayer filed with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of its latest hemophilia experimental drug, the report continued. The drug, called Kovaltry, is a long acting hemophilia A treatment which would allow patients to be dosed once per week. If approved, the drug would be created and tested in the new Berkeley facility. Kovaltry and damoctocog, the drug, have been created in the facility for clinical trials.

The Danish company Novo Nordisk also announced plans to open a $225 million plant in Kalundborg by 2020. The structure would be about 80,000 square feet and house an additional 100 production and engineering employees to the 2,800 existing employees at the Kalungburg location.

Even though the company is known for specializing in diabetes drugs, they are expanding into the hemophilia drug market. The company will produce pharmaceutical drugs for NovoSeven — treatment for hemophilia A and B patients who form inhibitors – and future developments in hemophilia treatments. A newer version of the drug, called NovoEight, was approved in several countries in 2014 and is already available in Europe and Japan. The drug is expected to be available in the US in the fall.

“The investment in Kalundborg underscores our long term ambition to create and maintain jobs in Denmark,” Henrik Wulff, EVP of product supply, said in a press release. “This year alone we expect Novo Nordisk will create about 250 new jobs in Kalundborg.”

Novo is also developing longer acting treatments, the statement added. The company expected to add their long acting hemophilia A treatment candidate with the FDA in 2015, while another file expected for hemophilia A in 2018. Another project to aid the company’s production is to convert a biologics plant in New Hampshire they acquired from Japan’s Olympus Biologics, where they hired nearly 100 more employees.