New 50,000-square-foot facility will allow them to expand their services from development and Phase I/II to Phase III and manufacturing.
CDMO Abzena is poised for massive growth with the completion of its new $60 million facility for Phase III and commercial cGMP manufacturing.
The 50,000 sqft “Lusk” facility is a welcome addition to the company’s San Diego, CA site, allowing the company to expand its services of biopharmaceuticals from initial development all the way to commercial manufacturing, while creating 125 new jobs in the area. Abzena also has facilities in Cambridge, UK and Bristol, PA.
“Until now our other San Diego site has been focused primarily on development and manufacture of Phase I and II clinical trial materials,” said Matt LeClair, senior VP and site head of Abzena’s San Diego operations. “This expansion will allow us to provide seamless project integration for our customers as they move into Phase III and ultimately commercial manufacture.”
Abzena supports the development and manufacture of treatment options for many biopharma companies. This investment was driven by its existing customer needs and a wider demand in the market for its services.
“At Abzena we’re dedicated to delivering an end-to-end service offering that supports our customers from concept to clinic and beyond, LeClair said. “This latest investment is testament to our commitment to developing our offering in line with the needs of our current customers and the rest of the market.”
Abzena recruited LeClair from Takeda’s site in Singapore in August to head up its San Diego facility.
After driving 80% revenue growth and tripling GMP manufacturing capacity in the first half of 2020, Abzena received an infusion of $10 million growth capital from Biospring Partners, a New York-based investment firm. Biospring called Abzena the “industry leader for the comprehensive and integrated development of biologics and ADCs.”
The new San Diego facility houses a 7,400 sqft process development lab that uses Sartorius single-use technology bioreactors to screen important process parameters and develop scaleable process to ensure seamless manufacturing. It has already received its manufacturing license from the California Food and Drug Branch.
