Fujifilm Increases Production Capacity in the US and UK
On April 18, 2017 Fujifilm announced the completion of a $93-million cGMP production facility in Texas. The facility expansion is part of the company’s goal to increase the production capacity of its BioCDMO by investing $130 million in the United States and United Kingdom.
The Texas facility was built in part with funding from Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), an office of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and Fujifilm plans to invest an additional $28 million to outfit the facility with mammalian cell-culture bioreactors. According to the company, this new facility will begin operation at the beginning of 2018.
In addition, the company said a $9-million investment will be made to expand their process development capabilities at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies UK Limited which is close to its Billingham, UK site. This facility is scheduled to be operational in summer of 2017.
The Texas facility will be the manufacturing center of excellence for the company’s Saturn Monoclonal Antibody Platform, with an initial cell-culture capacity of 6000L. The design of the facility allows for future expansion to accommodate up to 24,000L of upstream capacity. In the United Kingdom, the investments include the establishment of a dedicated Mammalian Cell Culture Center of Excellence. These laboratories span over 10,000 sq. ft. and are designed to incorporate the latest high-throughput technologies, including fully automated bioreactors and chromatography systems.
Written by Pharmaceutical Technology Editors
