The cash infusion will support the growth of its manufacturing capabilities in the US and the UK and the demands for gene therapies, antibodies, and vaccines such as COVID-19.
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With an $850 million investment from parent company FUJIFILM Corporation, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is expanding its manufacturing capabilities to support an increased capacity for biologics and gene therapies.
The cash infusion will support the growth of FUJIFILM’s contract manufacturing capabilities in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company said current market growth for contract development and manufacturing operation services is fueling the investment due to rising demands for gene therapies, antibodies, and vaccines against emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID-19.
FUJIFILM said there are expanding needs for outsourcing process development, analytical development, bulk drug substance manufacturing, fill/finish, and finished goods production.
The company has been ramping up its manufacturing capabilities over the past several months. In January, the parent company invested $40 million to support FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ new facility in the Boston area.
FUJIFILM operates two other viral vector manufacturing facilities in Texas and the United Kingdom. The company established its third viral vector contract development operation, which is expected to begin operations this fall. The third site enables it to respond to customers’ needs for the viral vector manufacturing process from the early clinical stage through commercialization.
In March, FUJIFILM announced plans to build a $2 billion cell culture biopharmaceutical production facility in North Carolina. That facility will provide large-scale cell culture manufacturing for bulk drug substance production. The site is expected to be the largest such facility in North America and is expected to become operational by 2025.
The $850 million investment is expected to double the company’s cell culture production for recombinant vaccines in the United States, including those aimed at COVID-19.
The most significant impact from the financial support will be in the United Kingdom. The financing will allow gene therapy production to increase ten-fold.
Also, cell therapy production will be tripled, and microbial fermentation output will be doubled at the existing 5,000L scale facility. The U.K. cell culture expansion will also include cGMP capacity for continuous manufacturing. Process and analytical development capacity will also be added as part of the expansion.
Both the U.S. and U.K. expansions are expected to become operational by late 2023, FUJIFILM said in its announcement. As the sites become closer to being operational, it will release additional details regarding the capabilities of the sites.
Since 2011, FUJIFILM has invested $5.5 billion to support the CDMO business of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies.
Teiichi Goto, president of FUJIFILM Corporation, said the company will continue to meet customers’ demands and accelerate the growth of its CDMO business.
“We will contribute to promoting a healthy society and developing the healthcare industry by providing a stable supply of high-quality biopharmaceuticals with our advanced technologies and facilities,” Goto said in a statement.
