SanBio Group has signed an agreement with Hitachi Chemical’s U.S.-based contract manufacturing subsidiary, Hitachi Chemical Advanced Therapeutics Solutions (HCATS). They will manufacture SB623, a proprietary regenerative medicine product under development by SanBio. Under the agreement, late stage clinical products and commercial products of SB623 for the U.S. and Japanese markets will be manufactured using Hitachi Chemical’s global facilities.

SanBio is developing and pursuing the rapid commercialization in Japan and the U.S. of its proprietary regenerative medicine product, SB623, as a new drug candidate for central nervous system disorders. Both the Phase 2b clinical trial of SB623 for the treatment of chronic motor deficit from ischemic stroke, which is being conducted in the U.S., and the Phase 2 global clinical trial of SB623 for the treatment of chronic motor deficit from traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is being conducted in Japan and the U.S., are progressing smoothly, according to the company. Regarding the TBI program, based on the results of the Phase 2 clinical trial, SanBio intends to utilize the conditional and term-limited authorization system for regenerative medicine products under the Revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Act of Japan, allowing the company to deliver product in Japan earlier than in any other market in the world.

In May 2017, Hitachi Chemical made HCATS, one of the leading contract manufacturing companies of regenerative medicine products in the U.S., a wholly owned subsidiary, and in April 2018, it plans to begin operation of its third global business base and one of Japan’s largest process development and contract manufacturing facilities in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. SanBio and HCATS reached an agreement on contract manufacture of SB623, because Hitachi Chemical has established a manufacturing facility in Japan that fulfills a broad range of requirements from manufacture of investigational regenerative medicine agents to that of commercial regenerative medicine products by utilizing the production control systems and manufacturing equipment of the whole Hitachi Group companies. Hitachi Chemical said it aims to harness the contract manufacturing technology and know-how of HCATS to operate a contract manufacturing business of regenerative medicine products not only in Japan, but globally, including North America and Europe.

“We are delighted to have reached an agreement to work with the Hitachi Chemical Group as our long-term SB623 supply partner,” said Keita Mori, chief executive officer, SanBio. “They are a world leader in the fields of healthcare, high technology, consumer, and other products with a reputation for quality and reliability. Their global reach will not only enable us to serve Japan and the US but potentially other worldwide regenerative medicine markets.”

Robert Preti, general manager of the Hitachi Chemical Regenerative medicine business sector and chief executive officer of HCATS, said, “We look forward to meeting the global development and manufacturing requirements for SB623, for the benefit of patients with central nervous system disorders. This agreement demonstrates the advantages and multinational reach of HCATS’s globally harmonized PCT services platform, as it will leverage our capabilities for contract manufacturing of regenerative medicine products both in Japan (Yokohama) and the U.S. (New Jersey and California).”