Avid Bioservices, a subsidiary of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals and a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) focused on the process development and manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies, proteins, and enzymes, has completed facility upgrades in response to increasing demand for its contract manufacturing services. According to Peregrine, the demand for Avid’s services has reached an all-time high, while projected revenue for its current fiscal year ending April 2013 is expected to surpass $18 million—a 20% increase from the previous fiscal year.

“We have seen tremendous growth in the demand for services at Avid, based on both the success of our clients and the continued commitment to excellence by our dedicated team,” said Steven W. King, president of Avid Bioservices. “We are strategically reinvesting some of these financial resources back into the business to further increase manufacturing throughput, reduce manufacturing risks, and ensure continued reliability with redundant systems.”

According to the CMO, the investments in the manufacturing infrastructure and systems are geared toward meeting the anticipated needs of Avid’s clients and Peregrine’s advancing pipeline, including the potential commercialization of cancer drugs bavituximab and Cotara. Within the last quarter, Avid has enhanced its Reverse Osmosis Deionized (RODI) and Water for Injection (WFI) systems, which resulted in a 450% increase in water capacity, allowing for generation of sufficient water to support the anticipated increase in production.

In addition, in September, Avid secured a contract with Advanced BioScience Laboratories to provide development and large-scale manufacturing services to support cGMP production of an HIV envelope protein, as a component of a preventive vaccine against HIV infection. Avid is providing services from process verification and assay development, through to development of a robust and compliant process for large-scale manufacturing, in order to support cGMP production of the gp145 HIV envelope protein.

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