Biopharma companies are eying the establishment of new facilities across the globe that will bolster their manufacturing strategies. BioSpace rounds up some of the latest announcements.
As 2021 nears to an end, biopharma companies are eying the establishment of new toeholds and facilities across the globe that will bolster their commercial and manufacturing strategies. BioSpace rounds up some of the latest announcements.
Pfizer Builds New N.C. Gene Therapy Site
Pfizer is opening a new, state-of-the-art gene therapy manufacturing facility in North Carolina. The company is investing millions of dollars into the 85,500 square foot facility that will expand its end-to-end capabilities. The new site in Durham, which is part of the Research Triangle Park, is part of a 4,800 million investment the company has made over the past six years to build three gene therapy manufacturing facilities to support Pfizer’s continued investment in gene therapy.
The new N.C. manufacturing site will be home to Pfizer’s BioTherapeutics Pharmaceutical Sciences Group. That group is responsible for the manufacturing and analytical release of clinical supplies for Pfizer’s gene therapy and biologics portfolio. The facility is expected to create more than 50 new jobs, in addition to the approximately 40 employees who will relocate from Pfizer’s Chapel Hill, N.C., site.
Novo Nordisk Builds Three Denmark Sites
Novo Nordisk will spend more than $2.5 billion to build three new manufacturing facilities in Denmark, as well as expand an existing site in Kalundborg. The Danish company said this investment will provide additional capacity across its entire global value chain, from the manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients to assembly and packaging. The expansions are expected to increase capacity for the production of Novo Nordisk’s current and future oral and injectable products. Novo Nordisk said the new facilities will be automated and include state-of-the-art production technologies.
The projects are expected to be completed in 2027 and create around 400 new jobs.
BioMagnetic Solutions Finds Home at Penn State Facility
BioMagnetic Solutions, a Gamma Biosciences portfolio company, is taking a space in Penn State’s Innovation Park. The new site will include more than 13,000 square feet of space. BioMagnetic Solutions expects the new site will be operational in mid-2022.
Gamma Biosciences acquired BioMagnetic Solutions in January.
FujiFilm Diosynth Expands Texas Site
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is expanding its single-use manufacturing campus in College Station, Texas. The expansion includes the addition of a new cGMP production facility that will double FujiFilm’s advanced therapy and vaccine manufacturing capacity in the U.S. The expansion is expected to have a cost of about $300 million and will add approximately 150 people to its headcount.
This new facility, expected to be operational by 2024, will add approximately 138,000 square feet to the existing campus, bringing the site to 300,000 square feet. The new site will house multiple 500L and 2,000L bioreactors and associated purification equipment deploying single-use technology.
The company has also made investments this month to establish new manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom and China.
KIYATEC Takes Up Residency in Upstate S.C.
A spinout of Clemson University, KIYATEC has become the first anchor company of Greenville, S.C.’s new Innovation District. According to reports, the company will invest $5 million into its new site and is expected to grow its headcount to about 100. The company currently has approximately 30 employees.
KIYATEC develops 3D cell culture technology which grows patient tumor cells ex vivo and tests cancer therapeutic response across multiple agents. The company launched its first commercial product, 3D Predict Glioma. Additional tests in ovarian, breast, rare tumor and lung cancers are expected to follow.
ABS Plans New HQ
Analytical Biological Services (ABS) is investing more than $9 million into a new Delaware headquarters that will allow the company to double its headcount. According to the Delaware Business Times, ABS will renovate 20,000 square feet of labs and 10,000 square feet of office space in the town of New Castle. The company hopes to occupy the new facility by the fourth quarter of 2022. An additional 18,000 square feet of space in the building could be taken over by ABS, or leased to another biotech.
SmartLabs Goes West
Boston-based SmartLabs is heading to the Bay Area with plans for a seven-story facility. The site is expected to provide new lab support spaces, including Tier 3 data rooms, waste storage and lab services, as well as office facilities. The company said its new San Francisco laboratories will deliver high-quality, turnkey R&D space and operations support for companies of varying sizes.
