Ark Therapeutics, a London-based contract development and manufacturing company focused on viral product, has signed a non-binding letter of intent with EMD Millipore, a division of Merck, to enter into a collaborative agreement in the field of viral based bioengineered vaccines and other live viral products manufacturing. 

Key elements of the collaboration focus on production optimization of viral based bioengineered vaccines and other live viral products for pilot and production scale and the installation of these processes at Ark's GMP manufacturing facility in Kuopio, Finland. Additionally, the parties plan to establish a GMP BSL-2 suite in the Kuopio facility equipped with EMD Millipore process technology to enable Ark's wider routine use of EMD Millipore process technology in its manufacturing services business.  

The collaboration “combines Ark's unrivalled expertise in commercial sable GMP manufacturing processes for live viral products and EMD Millipore's pre-eminent position in bioprocessing integrated solutions and high-performance devices,” said Dr. David Venables, CEO of Ark.