Alcami Helps Medicines Development for Global Health Secure FDA Approval

Alcami Corporation recently announced its collaboration with Medicines Development for Global Health (MDGH), a not-for-profit Australian biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of affordable medicines and vaccines for neglected diseases prevalent in low and middle-income countries. MDGH recently received US FDA approval of moxidectin, a novel new drug for the treatment of river blindness (onchocerciasis). MDGH utilized Alcami’s advanced analytical testing services and industry-leading accelerated turnaround time offering to meet critical approval deadlines.

“Our colleagues at Medicines Development for Global Health have reached a significant milestone,” said Alcami Chief Commercial Officer, Syed T. Husain. “We are very pleased to have helped MDGH navigate the complex road of bringing an innovative drug to market for treatment of a neglected disease. This breakthrough program will impact millions worldwide, and has the potential to eliminate river blindness.”

“FDA approval is a momentous achievement for any biopharmaceutical company, but it is a particularly rare and exciting event in the neglected diseases setting,” said MDGH Founder and Managing Director, Mark Sullivan. “It takes a broad community to develop a new medicine. FDA approval represents decades of work by thousands of scientists, disease control specialists, expert advisors, community health workers, funders, and study participants. We operate as a virtual development team, so without the support of our dedicated collaborators such as Alcami, such incredible achievements would not be possible.”

Moxidectin is a macrocyclic lactone anthelmintic medicine that selectively binds to a disease-causing parasite’s glutamate-gated chloride ion channels, vital to the function of its nerve and muscle cells. The drug has the potential to treat nearly 200 million people at risk of river blindness, 99% of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa.

On June 13, 2018, MDGH and its collaborator, the World Health Organisation Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), jointly announced moxidectin’s FDA approval, and receipt of a priority review voucher (PRV). The PRV entitles MDGH either to faster review of new drug applications (NDA), or it may be sold to further fund research and development.

Alcami and MDGH began their relationship in September 2016, developing and validating a discriminating dissolution method. The project evolved to incorporate analytical support for drug product process improvement, additional analytical support including inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) testing, and a solubility study– all at an accelerated pace – to meet MDGH’s NDA filing timelines. The two companies are exploring future opportunities to work together across Alcami’s broad service offerings and MDGH’s focused efforts to eliminate neglected tropical diseases, which affect over 1 billion of the world’s most disadvantaged people.

 Alcami is a world-class fully integrated end-to-end contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) headquartered in North Carolina, with executive offices in Durham and Wilmington. With approximately 1,000 employees operating at 10 global locations, Alcami provides customizable and innovative services to small and mid-size pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies by offering individualized and integrated services across multiple areas. Alcami connects its clients with innovative solutions for API development and manufacturing, solid-state chemistry, formulation development, analytical development and testing services, clinical and commercial finished dosage form manufacturing (oral solid dose and parenteral), packaging, and stability services.

Alcami provides comprehensive analytical testing services for new drug entities, generics, animal health products, active pharmaceutical ingredients, raw materials, in-process goods, medicated consumer health products, chemicals, biologics, and biopharmaceuticals at timelines 30% faster than industry standards. The company also offers augmented rush turnaround timelines to accommodate customers with urgent needs and strict manufacturing schedules. For more information, visit alcaminow.com.

 Medicines Development for Global Health is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 2005, this unique organization is dedicated to the development of affordable medicines and vaccines for neglected diseases prevalent in low and middle-income countries. MDGH is a not-for-profit, social enterprise. For more information, visit medicinesdevelopment.com.