Lonza extends supply agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb
Swiss group Lonza is extending the existing supply agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (B-MS) to produce the active pharmaceutical ingredient for Orencia (abatacept) in its Portsmouth, New Hampshire facility until the end of 2013.
Swiss group Lonza is extending the existing supply agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (B-MS) to produce the active pharmaceutical ingredient for Orencia (abatacept) in its Portsmouth, New Hampshire facility until the end of 2013.
The extension will provide B-MS with additional production capacity in support of future sales of Orencia, a biologic agent discovered and developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Orencia, approved by the FDA in December 2005 and launched in the US in February 2006, is a selective modulator of a co-stimulatory signal required for full T-cell activation, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
'We are very proud of the trust we have built with Bristol-Myers Squibb, which is demonstrated in their decision to extend our agreement to provide Orencia manufacturing services,' said Stephan Kutzer, head of Lonza's biopharmaceuticals business sector. 'The contract extension confirms Lonza's leadership position in custom biopharmaceutical manufacturing.'