Tercica, Inc. has entered into a new manufacturing agreement with Lonza Group Ltd., for the manufacturing and commercial supply of Increlex, recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1 (rhIGF-1).

As part of the agreement, Tercica and Lonza have agreed to transfer the manufacture of bulk Increlex from Lonza's Baltimore (formerly Cambrex Bio Science Baltimore, Inc.) facility to Lonza's Hopkinton, Massachusetts production facility.

The commercial production of Increlex at the Hopkinton facility is expected to begin in the second half of 2009. The facility in Baltimore will continue to produce Increlex into early 2008. Between now and the time of the closure of the Baltimore facility, Tercica will build sufficient inventory and safety stock to meet expected commercial demand of Increlex through the transition period, a Tercica press release stated.

"We are pleased to expand our commercial manufacturing partnership with Lonza," said Andrew J. Grethlein, Tercica's Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations. "They are an organization with significant expertise in biopharmaceutical production, process optimization, and quality systems. We believe that by transferring the production of Increlex from Baltimore to Hopkinton, we will fully leverage Lonza's global capabilities in reliable biopharmaceutical manufacturing and will be able to achieve significant reduction in Increlex cost of goods."

Tercica is a biopharmaceutical company committed to improving endocrine health by partnering with the endocrine community to develop and commercialize new therapeutics for short stature and other metabolic disorders.