Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies says the site in Billingham will support biologic, vaccine and gene therapy development and manufacturing for its customers. Work began on the site in Billingham in the North of England this week, 10 months after the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) first announced plans for the biocampus to support its pharma clients in the development and manufacture of biologics, vaccines and gene therapies. The expansion, set to represent an investment of up to $14.5 million (€13…

CDMO Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies has begun constructing a $35 million expansion at its College Station, Texas site, intended to feed the demand for gene therapy services. Having announced the expansion in November, contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies has begun adding cell culture and high throughput manufacturing suites at its College Station, Texas plant, to support the growing demand for of gene therapy production. The investment represents $35 million of the JPY 13 billion ($120 million) injection…

Iovance will use CDMO WuXi Apptec for initial commercial supply of lifileucel, but a Philadelphia plant under-construction looks to bring its tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapies inhouse. Iovance announced in June last year that it is constructing a 136,000 square-foot facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to manufacture its pipeline of autologous cell therapy candidates. At the time, the plant was expected to cost Iovance $75 million (€69 million) over three years “for equipment and construction of the manufacturing suites,” but…

AveXis has opened a gene therapy plant in Durham it says will be able to produce up to seven products simultaneously. President Dave Lennon talks timelines, capacity, and taking production inhouse. AveXis and its owner Novartis have invested a total of $115 million (€106 million) into a site in Durham, North Carolina to support the production of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved product Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec) and its pipeline of gene therapy candidates. With the doors opening last…

Astellas acquisition Audentes has laid plans to build a 135,000 square-foot gene therapy manufacturing plant in Sanford, North Carolina. The $109 million (€100 million) plant is expected to be operational in 2021 and will support Audentes’ gene therapy portfolio. The firm’s lead product is AT132, a Phase I/II clinical-stage experimental treatment for X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM), though the firm is also developing gene therapies for Pompe disease and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). “Our investment in large-scale manufacturing has always been…

A plant in Kalundborg that makes “around half of the world’s insulin” will benefit from another upgrade and expansion, says Novo Nordisk. Novo Nordisk’s site in Kalundborg, about 100 km west of Danish capital Copenhagen, has been making insulin products for over 50 years. The firm has heavily invested in production at the site over the past few years, and this latest expansion announced Friday sees a further DKK 800 million ($117 million) in upgrading and expanding facilities there. “Part…

With demand for shingles vaccine Shingrix continuing to outstrip supply, GSK says there is limited opportunity for further growth until extra capacity comes online. Meanwhile, the firm is investing $564 million at its vaccine operations in Belgium For GlaxoSmithKline’s vaccine business, sales grew 21% year-on-year to £7.2 billion ($9.3 billion). The firm attributed this primarily to the growth in sales of Shringrix, its non-live, recombinant subunit vaccine for the prevention of shingles (herpes zoster). The vaccine has continually seen quarterly…