Strides Arcolab Ltd. said its subsidiary Agila Biotech Sdn Bhd (Agila Biotech (Malaysia)) and Malaysian Bio-XCell Sdn Bhd. Signed a $34.4 million (RM 107 million) Build-and-Lease Agreement for the establishment of a customized biotech facility located in the Bio-Xcell ecosystem in Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia.
The agreement was signed at the BioPharma Asia Convention (BioPharma Asia) held in Singapore from 19-21 March 2013, by replacing an earlier agreement signed in May 2011.
Under the agreement, Bio-XCell will fund around $22 million (RM67.32 million) for construction of the building and part of the equipment, while all other related equipment, integration service and testing of this turnkey project, estimated at $13-$15 million, will be funded by Agila Biotech (Malaysia) from internal accruals and funding from external sources.
The company said the works on the facility for the end-to-end manufacturing of biologics located on an 8.77 acre plot would commence as soon as all necessary clearance and permits were obtained and all supplemental agreements were executed. Both parties are aiming for the R&D and manufacturing facilities to be operational by end 2014.
Agila Biotech (Malaysia)'s plans for their facility at Bio-XCell include the development of a multi-product, scalable manufacturing facility with a production capacity for mammalian (2KL expandable up to 8KL) and microbial (500L expandable up to 2KL) products. It also aims to develop advanced formulation/fill finish facilities to meet Agila Biotech (Malaysia)'s business model which will support the manufacturing of internal pipeline products as well as CMO activities.
These facilities will be able to support the production of Recombinant Monoclonal Antibodies (mAbs) from DS to DP, Recombinant Therapeutic Proteins from DS to DP, CMO activities for DS and DP, chemistry and formulation activities for PEGylation, novel formulation development and sterile fill finish facilities for vials, PFS, cartridges and lyophilized products, the company said.
Agila Biotech (Malaysia) is also building a 15,000 sq.ft. biologics R&D facility in Bangalore that will support and complement its operations in Malaysia.
Agila Biotech (Malaysia) joins Biocon (India), Met Ex (France) and Glycos Biotechnologies (US) as the early entrants into the Bio-XCell ecosystem. The site is supported by a network of five seaports and two international airports, all within 59 km from the park. The ecosystem at Bio-XCell is designed for industrial and heatlthcare biotechnology with a focus on manufacturing and R&D.
At the BSE, Strides Arcolab shares are currently trading at Rs.888.40, up 0.17 percent from the previous close.
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