State government awards support to IDT for nation’s first ADC factory

Pharmaceutical manufacturer IDT Australia has announced that it has been awarded a Victorian government grant to assist in the establishment of an Australian-first facility for oncology drugs.

In an ASX statement on Monday, IDT said it has established relationships with Antibody-Drug-Conjugate (ADC) biotech companies, including a master services  agreement with Japanese pharmaceutical company Nagase & Co.

ADCs are an emerging variety of anti-cancer compounds, described in a recent Nature article as “a promising cancer treatment modality that enables the selective delivery of highly cytotoxic payloads to tumours.”

According to the release from IDT – which did not disclose the dollar value of the support from the state government due to confidentiality agreements – it will build a $3.8 million commercial Contract Design and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) facility in Boronia for ADCs.

“The new ADC facility is a strategically important asset for our nation and for our  Company,” said CEO Paul McDonald.

“It will put Victoria at the heart of Australia’s sovereign capability to manufacture the latest cutting-edge drugs, while providing a significant growth catalyst for our [fledgling Advanced Therapies] business.”

Under the grant’s terms, the company is contracted to meet project milestones, “including  part funding of the capital works and new advanced technology job offers,” with grant support delivered in three tranches over 12 months.

“IDT Australia will fund the balance of the project from internal resources and debt facilities financing,” it said.

According to IDT, it will be Australia’s first current Code of Good Manufacturing Practice-compliant ADC factory.

The news follows an announcement last month that IDT had signed an agreement with pharmaceutical business Sanofi for cGMP manufacture of Sanofi’s mRNA vaccines now under development.

Picture: credit IDT Australia

Further reading

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IDT and Sanofi to manufacture mRNA vaccines under development

IDT’s strong quarter delivers growth

Monash University and IDT to enter mRNA manufacturing