Shire’s Lexington site receives EMA backing for Vpriv production

Shire has been granted approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the production of its drug Vpriv at its new manufacturing site in Lexington, Massachusetts.

The regulator's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has ratified the state-of-the-art facility at 400 Shire Way as a new location for the production of the type 1 Gaucher disease treatment.

Following this approval, the company will be able to significantly augment its global supply chain for Vpriv, while it will also pave the way for additional capacity to be freed up at Shire's Alewife site for manufacturing the drug Replagal.

Bill Ciambrone, senior vice-president for technical operations at Shire's human genetic therapies division, said: "The EMA approval of Vpriv in this manufacturing plant, only three years after breaking ground, is a testament to the hard work and dedication of Shire employees."

Last month, the company announced a new strategic partnership with biopharmaceutical services provider Icon, which will further reinforce its drug development capabilities.