Modavar Pharmaceuticals Opens 22,000 Square Foot Manufacturing Facility, Bolstering Frederick, Maryland Biotech Hub
Modavar Pharmaceuticals (Modavar), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian pharma giant Cadila Pharmaceuticals, recently opened a brand new, state-of-the-art, 22,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Frederick, Maryland, adding a prestigious new life science company to the blossoming Frederick biotech hub.
Modavar develops and manufactures its own generic drug formulations and co-develops products with organizations via its Contract Manufacturing arm. The company currently has six approved Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDA) and 14 ANDAs filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company has deep expertise in cGMP manufacturing, high volume production, and quality assurance, all backed by the capabilities of Cadila, a large, global pharmaceutical company with a history dating back to the 1960s. The company has a particular focus on developing products to better serve the unique dosage needs of pediatric and geriatric patients.
“Modavar is the American arm of Cadila, which helped found the Indian pharmaceutical industry. We are a generic drug development company that also has its own technology platforms that can enable other companies to partner with us to develop their own products,” stated Dr. Emad Hassan, Modavar’s Chief Science Officer.
“We understand that the future of therapeutics is personalized medicine, meaning each patient will have a specific dose that cannot be delivered by the current dosage forms in the market. You can cut a tablet into two but you can’t cut it into seven. These dosage limitations initiated the development of Modavar’s solid dosage platform technology. There is a huge unmet need for tailored dosages in personalized medicine,” he added.
Modavar’s Frederick manufacturing facility is a pilot plant where the company will manufacture products under cGMP standards, study their stability, and simulate commercial manufacturing conditions. The facility has two lines, one for the development of semi-solid and liquid products, including nanotechnology capabilities, and the other will be used for Mega Beads, a novel solid dosage form that will be an alternative to traditional tablets and capsules. The new Frederick manufacturing facility expands Modavar’s BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) footprint; the company’s U.S. headquarters is currently located in Washington, D.C. The facility, which opened in January 2021, is a critical part of Modavar’s long-term strategic plan.
“We studied the locations around us and found that Frederick has great government support and the talent we need. We have received tremendous help from Frederick County; they have expedited all of our applications and have been very understanding,” stated Hassan.
“I cannot thank Frederick County enough for their support. I have not experienced this level of responsiveness in all my years in the industry,” he added.
Modavar’s choice to build its state-of-the-art pilot plant in Frederick County, Maryland is yet another indication that Frederick remains a vibrant and important life science cluster within the wider BHCR. Modavar’s plans to employ approximately 36 staff at the Frederick location, which is sufficient to operate a facility with state-of-the-art automation capabilities.
“We plan on continuing to work with the FDA and university research institutes to move the idea of personalizing treatments forward. We need to make personalized treatments a reality. In the next few years, we will be submitting a number of products to the FDA for approval and we will be working with strategic partners to use our technology and help us achieve larger-scale adoption of our platform,” stated Hassan.
“More advanced dosing technology is so critical to chronic patients, particularly in the geriatric and pediatric patient populations. We are on a mission to leverage our technology to deliver the personalized, tailored dosage regimens required by these patients for more effective, safer treatment of their conditions,” he added. “With our new facility in Frederick and the support of the surrounding community, we are confident that we can achieve our mission.”
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Steve brings nearly twenty years of experience in marketing and content creation to the WorkForce Genetics team. He loves writing engaging content and working with partners, companies, and individuals to share their unique stories and showcase their work. Steve holds a BA in English from Providence College and an MA in American Literature from Montclair State University. He lives in Frederick, Maryland with his wife, two sons, and the family dog.
