CDMO GTP Bioways has invested $14 million into two biopharmaceutical production lines at its site in Toulouse, France.

The French contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO), which specializes in the production of nanotherapies and biotherapies has said the first line will be dedicated to production using microbial systems such as bacteria and yeast.

The first line will have a capacity of 300 L and is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2023.

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The second manufacturing unit has been designed for the culture of mammalian cells at a capacity of 10 L and will be able to produce small batches of antibodies and proteins ranging from a few milligrams through to a few grams for various applications.

According to the CDMO, from Q4 2022, the unit will be able to produce biomolecules for vaccines and raw materials for pharmaceutical use (RMPU) for the manufacture of cell therapies.

GTP Bioways won a contract in September for the first clinical batches of a nasal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, which is being developed by Tours University.

“France, as did many countries, realized with the COVID crisis that the bioproduction capacities were not able to meet the demand. In addition, we felt an important unmet need on bioproduction in Europe, regarding specific volumes or processes – and these two production units addresses them,” Eric Devic, CEO of GTP Tech told us.

“The development of mRNA vaccines increases the need of enzymes produced under GMP conditions and our unit, thanks to the microbial production line, will launch in the beginning of 2023. Regarding the second production line, there are existing production lines, however they are not able to address the need of small batches required to produce RMPU for cell therapies – for example.”

The firm claims it is the only CDMO in France offering a GMP (good manufacturing practices) unit for manufacturing proteins with therapeutic or vaccine-related uses, including enzymes for producing mRNA vaccines and synthetic DNA.

Toulouse talent-pool

The firm intends to recruit around 45 collaborators over the next two to three years and Devic said the CDMO benefits from a “strong attractivity” in Toulouse.

He continued: “The university of Toulouse provides valuable education in the bioproduction domain, and we have extensive contacts with local schools and university. In addition, Toulouse is now reputed for bioproduction with different companies having production sites in the region.”