Jacobs awarded Roche manufacturing project

New plant will produce peptides on very large scale

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Denver) announced on November 14 that it will provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) management services for a new Roche manufacturing facility in Boulder, Colorado. The facility will manufacture commercial supplies of the investigational anti-HIV compound, T-20, which Roche is developing with Trimeris Inc. T-20 is the first in a new class of drugs, called fusion inhibitors, that inhibit fusion of HIV with host cells before the virus enters the cell and begins its replication.

Roche and Trimeris recently announced that T-20 has entered phase III clinical trials (see related article). One pivotal study has been initiated in North, Central, and South America; a second in Europe and Australia.

Jacobs' role in the project is to provide full service design and construction to assure that Roche and Trimeris are able to produce the peptide quantities required to meet market needs.

"We have committed substantial financial and technical resources, so that we can start scaling up to produce this peptide in metric tons rather than kilograms," said Eric Lodewijk, Roche Colorado president and site manager. "Producing peptides in such quantities represents a major challenge that we are pleased to undertake."

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. is one of the world's largest providers of professional technical services. With annual revenues exceeding $3 billion, the company offers full-spectrum support to industrial, commercial, and government clients in diverse markets. Services include scientific and specialty consulting, plus all aspects of design, construction, and operations & maintenance.

For more information, contact Sherry Sweitzer of Jacobs Engineering at 626-578-6992.

Edited by Angelo DePalma
Managing Editor, Pharmaceutical Online and Drug Discovery Online
Email: adepalma@vertical.net