Cangene Corporation was a biopharmaceutical company based in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. It was founded in 1984 and specialized in hyperimmunes,

contract manufacturing A contract manufacturer (CM) is a manufacturer that contracts with a firm for components or products (in which case it is a turnkey supplier). It is a form of outsourcing. A contract manufacturer performing packaging operations is called copacker ...

biopharmaceutical A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, t ...

s and

biodefense Biodefense refers to measures to counter biological agent, biological threats, reduce biological risks, and prepare for, respond to, and recover from bioincidents, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate in origin and whether impa ...

. Cangene was 61% owned by Canadian pharmaceutical giant

Apotex Apotex Inc. is a Canadian pharmaceutical corporation. Founded in 1974 by Barry Sherman, the company is the largest producer of generic drugs in Canada, with annual sales exceeding . By 2023, Apotex employed close to 8,000 people as Canada's large ...

and was publicly listed on the

TSX The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; ) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the List of stock exchanges, 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in th ...

under the symbol CNJ.

Business model

Cangene's business model shifted several times during its existence. There is some consensus that the company came to rely on revenue from United States stockpiling and bioterrorism contracts and did not adequately prepare for the disappearance of this revenue. At one point, the company attempted a shift away from contract manufacturing to research & development, but abandoned this track after about two years and subsequently moved to marketing of ready-for-launch products developed by other companies.

History

Cangene was founded in 1984 and had an employee count of 650 in 2004. In 2009, the number of personnel in the Winnipeg facilities alone was 550, with another 100 in

Cangene bioPharma Cangene Corporation was a biopharmaceutical company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was founded in 1984 and specialized in hyperimmunes, contract manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals and biodefense. Cangene was 61% owned by Canadian pharmace ...

, 35 in its sales force, and about 100 across its plasma collection facilities. By the end of 2011, the overall number of employees was about 700, but significant cuts in personnel were conducted early in 2012. Such cuts were a continuation of a set of personnel reductions which began in mid-2010. In 2010, Cangene obtained United States distribution rights for

WinRho Rho(D) immune globulin (RhIG) is a medication used to prevent RhD isoimmunization in mothers who are RhD negative and to treat idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in people who are Rh positive. RhIG is commonly referred to as 'anti-D ...

from Baxter, which had held them since 2005. This was in part to counter declining sales of the product under Baxter, but also as part of the corporate strategy, which called for development its own

IVIG Immunoglobulin therapy is the use of a mixture of antibodies (normal human immunoglobulin) to treat several health conditions. These conditions include primary immunodeficiency, immune thrombocytopenic purpura, chronic inflammatory demyelin ...

product. As both WinRho and the newly conceived product were dependent upon

human plasma Blood plasma is a light amber-colored liquid component of blood in which blood cells are absent, but which contains proteins and other constituents of whole blood in suspension. It makes up about 55% of the body's total blood volume. It is the ...

as source material, Cangene expanded their plasma collection facilities in 2010. Development of the new IVIG product was subsequently cancelled in 2012, representing a strategic turn away from R&D toward marketing in an attempt to return to profitability. Decline in profitability had come in part due to decreased cash flow from a

bioterrorism Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents include bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, and/or their toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form, in mu ...

-related program of work with the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. In 2012, the company obtained exclusive United States distribution rights for Episil. In 2013, the company purchased rights to development and commercialization of three drug candidates, recombinant blood clotting factors VIIa, VIII and IX, the latter of which is in clinical trials. In February 2014, the company was acquired by

Emergent BioSolutions Emergent BioSolutions Inc. is an American multinational specialty biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It develops vaccines and antibody therapeutics for infectious diseases and opioid overdoses, and it provides m ...

Corporate governance

As of 2010, Paul Brisebois served as the company's vice president for commercial development. At the time, the company was in the process of expanding its sales force and shifting focus from contract manufacturing to a "strategy to optimize our commercial assets." In 2011, the company's "longtime

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

", John Langstaff of

, resigned and leadership went to John Sedor of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

as president and CEO.

Operations

Cangene's two manufacturing and plasma collection facilities were located in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Canada. The contract manufacturing subdivision, Celegene bioPharma, maintains facilities in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, United States. The sales and marketing office was located in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States. Most of the company's senior leadership were also based in Philadelphia by the time the company was sold in early 2014.

Products

As a result of their

focus, Cangene had three products included in the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile:

Heptavalent botulism antitoxin The Botulism Antitoxin Heptavalent (A, B, C, D, E, F, G) - (Equine) (trade name BAT), made by Emergent BioSolutions Canada Inc. (formerly Cangene Corporation), is a licensed, commercially available botulism anti-toxin that effectively neutral ...

Vaccinia immune globulin Vaccinia immune globulin (VIG) is made from the pooled blood of individuals who have been inoculated with the smallpox vaccine. The antibodies these individuals developed in response to the smallpox vaccine are removed and purified. This results in ...

Anthrax immune globulin Anthrax immune globulin, sold under the brand name Anthrasil, is a human immune globulin that is used in combination with antibiotics to treat anthrax. It was developed by Cangene and purchased in 2011 by the Biomedical Advanced Research and De ...

. 2012 revenue from the biodefense products amounted to . Cangene also had four approved commercial specialty products:

, HepaGam B, VARIZIG, and episil. 2012 commercial product revenue was , while their contract manufacturing revenue was .

Cangene bioPharma

Cangene bioPharma is the

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

-based contract manufacturing division of Cangene. As of November 2010, Cangen bioPharma had 100 employees in two facilities, and 30 customers. From May 2008 to at least November 2010, Cangene bioPharma supplied assembled

Fusilev Folinic acid, also known as leucovorin, is a medication used to decrease the toxic effects of methotrexate and pyrimethamine. It is also used in combination with 5-fluorouracil to treat colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer, may be used to t ...

product to Spectrum Pharmaceuticals under a supply agreement. The agreement was slated to end in May 2013.

Business model

History

Corporate governance

Operations

Products

Cangene bioPharma

References

External links

Further reading