Mumbai: Piramal's Healthcare is going to invest $2.5 million at its FDA approved antibody drug conjugate (ADC) manufacturing suites in its Grangemouth, UK, facility in order to upgrade it from clinical phase to commercial grade. The upgrade will give Piramal two commercial grade ADC suites at the Grangemouth facility, while retaining clinical phase manufacturing capacity in other suites on site.

The batch size offered from the Grangemouth facility ranges from one -to-1.5kg and Piramal has capacity for further expansion on site if required. As part of the investment, the areas supporting the manufacturing suite will also be upgraded to provide new areas for buffer preparation, equipment preparation and antibody freeze and thaw.

Piramal also intends to expand its proof of concept (POC) offer at Grangemouth, for pharma companies looking to demonstrate antibody and/or toxin suitability for use as an ADC.

ADCs are targeted therapies designed to deliver a drug payload to cancer cells while minimizing the adverse effects on normal healthy cell. Piramal, which is the first contract supplier of ADCs globally, formed an alliance with Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies in October 2012 to offer seamless contract development and manufacture of ADCs.

Mr Vijay Shah, executive director and chief operating officer, Piramal Enterprises, added that, "This investment, supporting an emerging and exciting platform in the field of oncology treatment, aligns completely with our values as an organisation. We view ADCs as a strategic area of growth for our Pharma Solutions Business and this investment demonstrates our intention to support our customers with facilities and capacity that can support them into commercial supply."