RE:Production capacityHere is my understanding of the process, which comes from working in the biotech industry.
Drug is manufactured in batches, if you remember 3 batches were produced to support the CMC part of the approval and these batches are being used to treat patients presently. A batch run is a distinct process, it should take about two weeks to grow and harvest the cell cultures, this is done in a bioreactor. It then goes to other separate equipment for purification. And then on to another area for final finishing and 'bottling'. This is all scheduled activity, for efficient use of the equipment. Batch runs can be overlaying. So for example Batch1 grows and is harvested from the bioreactor, that material moves to purification and batch 2 can be started immediately following cleanup of the bioreactor. All three steps can overlap in this way to keep all three parts of the plant running efficiently. You should be able to get about 24 batch runs in a bioreactor each year if its running to full capacity.
There is really no ongoing production process that cant be stopped, reshceduled or even increased for any technical reasons. A Batch is a distinct technical activity, from a technical perspective you could run one in a year or give over the whole production capacity to doing run after run after run if youwanted to. There's likely some efficiencies in say doing a group of batches together just because the purification equipment is likely somewhat reconfigured for each different protein taimed manufactures. Its nothing like a continous conveyor belt of production though that cant be stopped if thats what your thinking.
So in short the answer likely comes down to contractual arrangements. Wuxi/Taimed have likely scheduled a set number of batch runs each year. My best guestimate would be about ten runs per year, thats my best estimate for producing material to treat 1500 patients for a whole year. There some uncertainty in that number though.
A Good question to ask management would be how many patients the three batches that were initially produced could treat, that would give a better understanding of what are the technical limits of Wuxi's capacity and how much this is just the contractual arangement. Afterall a contract can always be amended.
palinc2000 wrote: There seems to be the notion that Wuxi and or Taimed will build inventory while sales are less than production capacity.Is this because production cannot be stopped or is it because this is part of the agreement between Wuxi and Taimed?