Page 143 - CW E-Magazine (8-7-2025)

Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals

ACCIDENT PARTNERSHIP
Deadly blast at Sigachi Industries’ facility in Telangana Biological E and Jiangsu Recbio in technology tie-up

Around 35 persons were feared for HPV vaccine
killed and several severely others in-
jured in a massive explosion at Sigachi China’s Jiangsu Recbio Tech- vaginal, anal, and oropharyngeal and expertise to BE to produce the
Industries Pvt. Ltd.’s facility in Telan- nology Company Ltd. (Recbio) has cancers, as well as genital warts. HPV9 vaccine and will continue to sup-
gana’s Pashamylaram on June 30. entered into a licensing cooperation port in clinical development and regula-
agreement with Hyderabad-based Recbio will provide BE with Drug tory approvals. BE will begin large-scale
Preliminary inquiries suggest that a vaccine and pharmaceutical com- Substance (DS) and transfer techno- manufacturing of the HPV9 vaccine once
dryer malfunction in a quality control pany, Biological E. Ltd. (BE), for logy to formulate, fi ll, and package the technology transfer is completed.
unit triggered the blast. An adjacent technology transfer of its Recombi- vaccines. It will also include techno-
HR block and a rear compound wall nant 9-valent HPV (HPV9) vaccine. logy transfer for DS production at an “This cooperation is another signifi -
were partially damaged. Chunks of HPV is a group of over 200 known appropriate time in the future. As per the cant progress for Recbio in expand-
cement crushed some workers, while viruses, some of which are classifi ed agreement, BE will receive the exclu- ing into international markets. We will
others suff ered fatal burns as fl ames as high-risk due to their potential to sive right to commercialise the vaccine work together with our Indian partner
spread rapidly after the blast. Many cause cancer. The HPV9 vaccine is in India and participate in UNICEF and to accelerate the launch process of the
bodies were burnt beyond recognition. a recombinant vaccine designed to PAHO tenders in other markets. HPV9 vaccine in India, and jointly
A detailed investigation is underway protect against nine types of Human make greater contributions to global
to establish the exact cause and check years. In an earlier blast at a Sangareddy The company operates three manu- Papillomavirus (HPV), including Recbio has begun transferring the public health,” said Mr. Liu Yong,
whether safety protocols were being pharma plant, six people died and facturing plants for microcrystalline those responsible for cervical, vulvar, necessary technical knowledge, materials, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Recbio.
followed at the facility. 14 were injured. Another explosion cellulose. The Hyderabad facility, GLOBAL CAPABILITY CENTRE
in Pashamylaram in 2023 killed three where the blast occurred, contributes
There were reportedly 150 mem- workers. about 6,000 metric tonnes per annum AstraZeneca expands Bengaluru global hub with
bers in the shift, with 90 working in (mtpa) out of the company’s total ope-
the blast area. Sigachi, which specialises in manu- rating capacity of 21,700-mtpa. Rs. 166-cr investment
facture of microcrystalline cellulose,
The Sangareddy and Pashamylaram said production at the plant would be The remaining capacity is supplied Biopharmaceutical major Astra- its Global Innovation and Technology President, Global Business Services,
industrial belt has witnessed multi- paused for around 90 days to restore by two other plants located in Gujarat, Zeneca has expanded its Global Capa- Centre (GITC) in Chennai. Together, AstraZeneca. “This hub enhances our
ple reactor-related accidents in recent aff ected equipment and structures. which continue to operate normally. bility Centre (GCC) in Bengaluru with the company’s India operations under R&D capabilities by connecting us with
a new facility, backed by an investment AstraZeneca India Pvt. Ltd. (AZIPL) India’s exceptional scientifi c and techno-
COMPETITIVE PRESSURE of Rs. 166-crore. The expanded hub will now employ close to 4,000 people. logical expertise. The expansion will
accelerate the development of innovative
Biocon drops plan to launch weight-loss drugs accommodate nearly 1,300 employees, “This global hub in Bangalore is a medicines and support delivery across
including the addition of 400 new jobs.
strategic investment that will play a vital our R&D pipeline, ultimately benefi t-
in China This marks AstraZeneca’s second role in advancing AstraZeneca’s bold ing patients around the world,” said
major investment in India within a ambition to deliver 20 new medicines by Mr. Magnus Nord, Vice President, Global
Biotech fi rm, Biocon, has aban- as saying in a Reuters report. Chinese drugmakers have rushed to year, following the recent scale-up of 2030,” said Mr. Jackie Crockford, Vice Patient Safety BioPharma, AstraZeneca.
doned plans to market generic versions Mr. Kaptain had said in 2024 that Bio- develop generics or biosimilars as the
of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes and weight- con was aiming to launch its versions patent for semaglutide, a key ingredient Govt. to bring in barcodes to fi ght fake drug menace
loss drugs in China due to local of Novo’s diabetes and weight-loss in both Ozempic and Wegovy, ends in
competition. drugs Ozempic and Wegovy in the early 2026 in China. In a bid to weed out spurious drugs, The proposal to affi x barcodes has do not appear to be “substantial” in pub-
world’s second-biggest economy manufacturers of antimicrobials, nar- been in the works for long, though it faced lic interest and agreed to appropriately
“We decided not to do it in China, after clinical trials. Biocon’s diabetes The number of adults in China cotic drugs, vaccines, and psychotropic opposition from various stakeholders. amend the Drugs Rules, 1945.
not supply or register the product in and weight-loss products would have who are overweight is projected to substances will have to mandatorily A consultative meeting was held recently
China, either fi nished product or the joined at least 15 other generics or reach 540-million in 2030 and those affi x barcodes or quick response (QR) wherein the stakeholders raised their Earlier, the drug regulator had
API, because there is ample capa- biosimilars in development by Chinese who are obese 150-million, increases codes on their product labels. The concerns. However, the Drugs Consulta- included a few cancer drugs to mandato-
city and players available in China,” drugmakers, Reuters has reported. of 2.8 and 7.5 times respectively union health ministry is set to shortly tive Committee (DCC) under the Central rily have barcodes for validating their
Mr. Amit Kaptain, head of Biocon’s Biosimilars are versions of a drug from the year 2000, according to a amend the drug rules for implementing Drugs Standard Control Organisation authenticity following incidents of
commercial active pharmaceutical that are highly similar to approved 2020 study by Chinese public health this measure, as per a report in the (CDSCO) in a recent meeting deliberated refi lling of expensive anti-cancer drugs
ingredients (API) business, was quoted medications. researchers. Economic Times. and opined that the stakeholder concerns with counterfeits by criminals.

142 Chemical Weekly July 8, 2025 Chemical Weekly July 8, 2025 143

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