One of the difficulties facing Israeli drug development companies is the need to produce enough molecules for clinical trials, when there is insufficient production capacity in the country, resulting in production usually taking place overseas. Protein Production Services Ltd. (PPS), based at the Kiryat Weizmann Science Park in Ness Ziona, is in this business.
Sources inform ''Globes'' that PPS is raising $10 million from various sources in order to expand its activity. In order to meet a growing need for its services, the company plans to build a new plant for the production of pharmaceuticals for Phase III clinical trials and for commercial production.
In April, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor recommended allotting an 11-dunam (2.75-acre) site for PPS at the Shlomi industrial park in the western Galilee. The new 4,400-square meter facility will meet cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Processes) standards of the Ministry of Health, as well as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMEA). The plant is due to begin production in 2012.
PPS's current financing round is basically the company's first round. The company, founded in 2005, is wholly owned by its employees, who previously worked for Interpharm (a subsidiary of Serono). The company's customers include Israeli and foreign biotech firms, as well as established pharmaceutical companies.
PPS is also a member of the Stem Cell Consortium in collaboration with European companies, with support of the Office of the Chief Scientist and the EU Seventh Framework Progamme for Research and Development.
PPS has 28 employees. The company provides production facilities for drug candidates for preclinical and Phase I/II clinical trials.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 18, 2010
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