Thermo Fisher Expands Viral Vector Production Capabilities

The company, which invested $180 million in the new construction, said these new operations will expand its viral vector network to six sites and help meet global demand for gene therapies by addressing critical challenges related to scalability, productivity, and performance.

With hundreds of viral vector therapies in late-stage development or clinical trials, the biopharmaceutical industry’s demand for viral vector production has grown exponentially and new capacity is critical.

The new site, which is 300,000 square feet (27,870.9 square meters) in scale, will incorporate more than 300 employees, in science, engineering, manufacturing, QA/QC, finance, warehouse and more, the firm said.

Previously, Thermo Fisher noted that it had strategically selected Plainville as the location for the viral vector production site on the basis that it would be able to capitalize on its experience in other locations in Massachusetts and would also be able to tap into the strong talent pool in the Greater Boston area. .

The organization said it continues to invest and innovate in cell and gene therapy services, products and workflows.

The Plainville site, he added, is part of an investment strategy to provide pharmaceutical customers with fully integrated capabilities that connect the entire cell and gene therapy value chain, from early development and clinical scale-up to commercial manufacturing. These include translational science labs for early development; plasmid DNA manufacturing; viral vector services; cell therapy manufacturing; and integrated packaging and commercial distribution services.

Commenting, Marc N Casper, CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific, said, “We are enabling our customers to accelerate their scientific discovery in cell and gene therapy, while supporting their manufacturing needs, whether they are early in the development process or ready for transition to clinical or commercial scale”.

Earlier this month, the company said it had invested $76 million in expanding its dry powder media manufacturing facility in Grand Island, New York. The measure was aimed at increasing the production capacity of the raw materials used in the manufacture of vaccines and biological therapies.

Source: www.biopharma-reporter.com