Rentschler Biotechnologie GmbH, a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for biopharmaceuticals, today announced the opening of a new facility with an capacity of two times 3,000 liters at the company’s site in Laupheim. This innovative Twin system consists of two stainless steel bioreactors for the manufacturing of cell culture-derived proteins and is complemented by directly connected equipment for protein purification. The system increases Rentschler’s manufacturing capacity for the second time within a year; a new 2,000 liter single-use bioreactor was put into operation in 2015.
With the growing demand for biopharmaceuticals and increased industry manufacturing outsourcing, Rentschler made the decision to more than double its manufacturing capacity, investing a total of EUR 24 million. The Twin system, which utilizes state-of-the-art technology, was completed three months ahead of schedule. Proteins for the clinical development of drug candidates, as well as already approved drugs, will be produced, for example used for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases.
Dr. Frank Mathias, Chief Executive Officer of Rentschler Biotechnologie GmbH, commented, “The growing demand for biopharmaceuticals and the rising number of drug candidates in clinical development was recognized by Rentschler early on. For this reason, the company has been strategically expanding its manufacturing capacity, most recently in 2015. Today, only one year later, we have completed another major step in this expansion, achieving an important milestone in the longstanding track record of Rentschler. An increase in sales of over 30% in the past two years has enabled us to make this significant investment. We have already received manufacturing orders for the new facility, extending into 2018. Increasingly, our growth is being driven by international business, with more and more orders coming from abroad, particularly the United States.”
With the continued growth of the biopharmaceutical industry and the company’s own growth and success, Rentschler is planning to significantly increase the size of its workforce by creating approximately 200 new jobs. The company is looking to hire a variety of skilled employees, including process engineers and laboratory technicians in bioprocess development and manufacturing as well as GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) experts, as it continues to expand its business.
About the Twin System
The Twin system consists of two 3,000 liter stainless steel bioreactors and is designed to run the two bioreactors in parallel or staggered with one shared downstream processing unit, thus providing higher throughput while reducing costs. This system integrates well into the existing 3,000 liter facility and more than doubles Rentschler’s manufacturing capacity for cell culture-derived proteins.