The CDMO’s investment in the North-East based site expansion supports UK production of medicines and vaccines.
Fujifilm Biotechnologies has opened its expanded £400 million biomanufacturing and process development site in Teesside, UK, bolstering its global manufacturing network.
The contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO)’s investment includes opening the UK’s largest single-use biopharmaceutical CDMO facility at the site.
The firm’s expansion adds two single-use bioreactors, one of 2,000 L and the other of 5,000 L, creating a total capacity of up to 19,000 L for small- and mid-scale antibody manufacturing.
All-in-one equipment design will run all downstream unit operations across multiple scales, supporting the CDMO’s fed-batch and continuous processes.
Sustainability is also a core focus, with the plant set to be fully electric and harness renewable energy. Fujifilm has set 2030 as a target date for 100 percent use of renewable electricity at the facility.
The 110,000ft2 manufacturing facility is expected to be operational in the first half of this year.
Adding to this, Fujifilm has also opened the Bioprocess Innovation Centre UK (BIC UK), doubling the campus’ existing lab footprint (102,200ft2) and providing both high-throughput, and continuous process development capabilities.
[the site] provides pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners with enhanced scalability, speed to market, and cross-site technology transfer, helping to ensure reliable medicine supply for patients in the UK and globally”
Toshihisa Iida, Director, Corporate Vice President, General Manager of Life Sciences Strategy Headquarters and Bio CDMO Division, Fujifilm Corporation, and Chairman, Fujifilm Biotechnologies, explained that the expanded UK site facilitates product advancement from “process development stage to early clinical manufacturing – ranging from low-volume therapies for ultra-rare diseases to commercial biologics all from one site”.
Lars Petersen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fujifilm Biotechnologies, said that the site “provides pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners with enhanced scalability, speed to market, and cross-site technology transfer, helping to ensure reliable medicine supply for patients in the UK and globally”.
According to UK Health Innovation Minister Dr Zubir Ahmed, Fujifilm’s expansion also helps deliver the UK government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan, announced last July. Fujifilm’s investment also aligns with the rapid technology transfer capabilities at its biomanufacturing facility in Toyama, Japan.
