ERYTECH Announces Opening of Operations at its New Princeton, NJ GMP Manufacturing Facility
  • Inauguration event held last week to officially open 30,000 sq. ft GMP manufacturing facility constructed in Princeton, NJ to produce lead product candidate eryaspase in the United States

PRINCETON, N.J. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and LYON, France, June 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ERYTECH Pharma (Euronext: ERYP - Nasdaq: ERYP), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies by encapsulating drug substances inside red blood cells, announced today the opening of its new Princeton, NJ GMP manufacturing facility.

The facility will support production capacity needs for eryaspase, the Company`s lead product candidate for patients in the United States. Eryaspase is in Phase 3 clinical development for the treatment of second-line pancreatic cancer. The Phase 3 clinical trial, which is referred to as the Trybeca-1 trial is expected to enroll approximately 500 patients with second-line metastatic pancreatic cancer at approximately 120 clinical sites in Europe and the United States. The trial started enrolling patients in Europe in September 2018 and is now actively enrolling patients in several European countries. The Princeton facility is targeted to begin manufacturing eryaspase in the fourth quarter of this year to ensure supply for US participants in the Trybeca-1 trial.

The Princeton facility is equipped with multiple clean rooms, with flexibility designed into its configuration and staffing for further scale-up, in view of supplying eryaspase for this Phase 3 and other clinical trials, as well as for the initial expected commercial demand in the United States, if approved.

"The official inauguration of the Princeton, NJ facility last week represents our strong commitment to the United States and the technologic transferability of our ERYCAPS platform", said Gil Beyen, CEO of Erytech. "The investment we see coming to fruition today signals the company`s growth and ushers in hope for the numerous cancer patients we are dedicated to serve."

Speakers at the site inauguration included Pancreatic Cancer Expert Physician Marcus Noel, MD, and Kerry McKean Kelly, founder of Kelly`s Heroes patient advocacy group. Comments were also shared by the local Mayor, Hemant Marathe, ERYTECH`s Facility Project Leader, Siera Talbott, and CFO/COO, Eric Soyer.

About pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found in the tissues of the pancreas. Every year, there are approximately 150,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed in Europe and the United States. Advanced pancreatic cancer is a particularly aggressive cancer, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10%. It is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer death in Europe and the United States and is projected to rise to the second leading cause by 2030. Limited therapeutic options are currently available for this indication, thereby reinforcing the need to develop new therapeutic strategies and rational drug combinations with the aim of improving overall patient outcomes and quality of life.