China's Benda Pharma expands capacity

China-based Benda Pharmaceutical, which produces traditional Chinese and conventional drugs, as well as Gendicine, the world's first commercialized gene therapy for the treatment of cancer, says that its Ebei plant received Good Manufacturing Practices certification for its new tablets product line late 2007.

The Ebei plant is currently Benda's most significant revenue contributor and forms the solid base upon which it is launching next generation biopharmaceuticals like Gendicine, the firm notes. The agent is made up of two components: normally functioning p53 genes; and an adenovirus carrier or "vector" to transport this p53 into cancer cells and is injected directly into the tumor. Ebei achieved $11.8 million in revenue during the first nine months of 2007, up 55% over the same period a year ago.

To both grow and diversify the plant's business, Benda began the construction of an addition intended to house multiple new production lines in September 2006, completing this in September 2007. The new capacity adds to the product mix five new production lines, with respective annual capacities of 40 million oral liquid vials, 230 million capsules, 758 million tablets, 500 tons of pills and 20 million bags of granules. Benda expects the new tablets line alone to contribute around $1.8 million in revenue in 2008. The four remaining product lines are all under GMP review and the company expects each to be certified early this year.