Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced that manufacturing of Zilretta is underway at its Swindon, U.K. site where a custom “condo” manufacturing suite has been installed to support the launch of Flexion‘s newly approved therapy for osteoarthritis-related knee pain.

The condo was designed specifically for Flexion’s needs – providing the ideal environment for complex formulations and create a manufacturing runway from development to commercialization.

Zilrettais the first and only FDA-approved extended-release intra-articular therapy for patients experiencing osteoarthritis-related knee pain. 

Flexion selected the Patheon custom manufacturing solution to meet the anticipated demand for this innovative treatment for osteoarthritis knee pain.  Under this arrangement, Flexion benefits from a dedicated manufacturing operation that can operate as needed to meet supply requirements while sharing high-cost capital and operating expense functions.

“We knew going into the launch of this novel therapy that it was critical to have the capacity to respond to increases in demand for our medicine,” said Michael Clayman, D.D., president and chief executive officer of Flexion.  “The strategic solution provided by Thermo Fisher’s Pharma Services business creates flexibility to ensure supply.”