Live biologics CDMO Arranta Bio has bought a single-use manufacturing platform from Cytiva for the production of mRNA vaccines. 

The purchase is part of a $110 million investment by Arranta at its manufacturing and development facility in Watertown, Massachusetts. The CDMO also plans to open a dedicate space for lipid nanoparticle formulation 

Joe Makowiecki from Cytiva, told us “This is the first FlexFactory for an mRNA product,” adding that it will “provide Arranta the flexibility to manufacture mRNA vaccines and therapies from in vitro transcription (IVT) to drug product aseptic fill.   

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He predicted that “By integrating our solutions, Arranta will reduce the complexity, cost, and timeline for their mRNA products.” 

Makowiecki said Cytiva expects to deliver the platform towards the end of Q2 2022, with the handover happening in Q3 2022 along with the completion of qualification and training.   

This was echoed in a press statement by Arranta CEO Mark Bamforth, who said, “Cytiva’s solutions provide us with the flexibility and modularity to offer our customers tailored manufacturing.” 

The 70,000 square-foot Arranta Bio plant houses a range of fermenters up to 2,000 L scale for the manufacture of live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) and critical starting material production. 

Demand for mRNA tech 

Makowiecki framed Arranta’s investment as part of a wave of growing biopharmaceutical sector interest in novel vaccine manufacturing technologies. 

 “There is an increased interest in technologies to make mRNA products,” he said, adding “The demand for technologies to help make mRNA products is very healthy. The COVID-19 vaccines have proved the safety and efficacy of the technology.   

The race for new mRNA vaccines targeting a variety of other infectious diseases has already started according to Makowiecki, who also highlighted oncology vaccines are a growing area of interest. 

He told us “mRNA has the potential to be a vaccine platform that spans from billions of doses for the population down to personalized therapies for a single patient.”