Fujifilm Biotechnologies expands in U.K.

Fujifilm Biotechnologies recently celebrated the grand opening of its expanded biopharmaceutical CDMO facility in Teesside, U.K.

In a Feb. 11 news release, the company said the expansion introduces 2,000 L and 5,000 L single-use bioreactors with a total capacity up to 19,000 L. The goal is to provide small- and mid-scale antibody manufacturing, and there’s flexibility to expand to support customer programs as needed. The 110,000 ft² manufacturing facility will be operational in the first half of this year.

In parallel, Fujifilm Biotechnologies is opening its Bioprocess Innovation Centre UK (BIC UK), which it describes as a state-of-the-art laboratory for both high-throughput and continuous process development capabilities. The over 102,200 ft²  facility doubles the campus’ existing lab footprint.

“Over the past decade, Fujifilm has invested more than £5 billion globally to grow our CDMO business — demonstrating our steadfast commitment to increasing our production capacity and capabilities to meet the growing demand for innovative medicines and vaccines for patients around the globe,” said Toshihisa Iida, director, corporate VP, GM of Life Sciences Strategy Headquarters and Bio CDMO Division, Fujifilm Corp., and chair of Fujifilm Biotechnologies.

“The opening of our U.K. expansion will enable us to support our partners’ products from the process development stage to early clinical manufacturing – ranging from low-volume therapies for ultra-rare diseases to commercial biologics, all from one site.”