Fusion Pharmaceuticals to open radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facility to produce targeted alpha therapies for cancer
by CM staff
Facility is on track to be fully operational in 2024.
Photo: Fusion Pharmaceuticals.
HAMILTON — Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing radiopharmaceuticals as precision medicines, announced the opening of its radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facility.
The 27,000 square foot good manufacturing practice (GMP) compliant facility, which is located adjacent to the company’s research and development labs, has clinical and commercial manufacturing scale capabilities designed to support the company’s growing pipeline of targeted alpha therapies (TATs).
“Manufacturing and supply chain are critical components of radiopharmaceutical development and commercialization. Having spun out of a radiopharmaceutical manufacturer, this is a core competency for Fusion, and we believe we are well-positioned to scale production in support of our pipeline of TATs, which now includes five clinical-stage programs,” said John Valliant, CEO, Fusion. “The location of the facility, adjacent to both our internal research organization and McMaster University, a world-class institution that specializes in medical isotope research and training, enables us to efficiently advance new TATs and hire experienced talent to execute on our clinical and future commercial plans.”
The new manufacturing facility, part of a 15-year lease agreement with Hamilton, Ontario-based McMaster University, was built by McMaster and equipped and validated by Fusion. At full capacity, it is expected to produce over 100,000 doses of TATs per year.
“McMaster University is a pioneer in medical isotope research and the McMaster Innovation Park is the ideal location to produce the next generation radiopharmaceuticals for cancer therapy,” said David Farrar, president of McMaster University. “We’re proud to expand on our partnership with Fusion –– and to grow our region’s biotechnology and biomanufacturing sector.”
To ensure scalability and redundancy, Fusion plans to continue to leverage existing contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) relationships with Cardinal Health, SpectronRx, Radiomedix and AtomVie.
“With the complexity of just-in-time manufacturing for radiopharmaceuticals, diversification in supply chain and redundancy in production is vital to ensuring reliable patient access to therapy,” said Eric Burak, Chief Technology Officer, Fusion. “Coupled with our previous investments in actinium supply, this new facility provides further control for our entire supply chain to meet the growing patient demand for targeted alpha therapies.”
