Chugai enters Actemra manufacturing deal

Chugai Pharma Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Japan’s Chugai Pharmaceutical, has agreed a toll manufacturing agreement with Swiss firm Genetech for the production of the bulk drug substance Actemra, it has been announced.

The company said the deal, which will see Actemra manufactured at Genetech’s facility in Vacaville, California, as well as Chugai’s Utsunomiya Plant, was drawn up after “detailed analysis” of likely demand for the drug.

Actemra is a humanized anti-human IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody that was created by Chugai in partnership with Osaka University and launched in June 2005. The drug is the world’s first treatment for Castleman’s disease.

Since 2008, it has also been licensed to treat some forms of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Chugai and pharmaceutical firm Roche submitted applications for Actemra to be licensed as an RA treatment in Europe and the US in November last year. If successful, Chugai will co-promote the drug in the UK, Germany and France, while Roche will handle its marketing it all other areas, excluding Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.