Sonoma Bio has entered into a long-term lease agreement to develop an R&D and manufacturing plant in Seattle, Washington.

According to Sonoma Biotherapeutics, the 83,000 square-foot center will be dedicated to research, development, and production of gene-modified regulatory T cell (Treg) therapies for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases at scale for its upcoming clinical trials.

“Sonoma Bio is at the forefront of developing Treg therapies to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by restoring balance to the immune system, and we are establishing robust and nimble infrastructure from end-to-end to deliver these cellular products,” said Heidi Hagen, chief technical officer of Sonoma Biotherapeutics.

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“Through the integration of our R&D engine with next-generation process development and cell therapy production tools, we will have the ability to quickly and efficiently deliver potentially transformative therapies to patients in need.”

The firm claims that the facility will include various technologies and capabilities ranging from genetic modification and cell selection through to intelligent production automation and information systems.

Furthermore, the company states that by adopting this infrastructure, Sonoma will be able to advance quickly from molecular target identification to inhouse full-scale manufacturing for numerous candidates in Phase II clinical trials and more.

The waterfront location is being redeveloped by TheRMR Group and according to Jeff Bluestone, co-founder and CEO of Sonoma Bio, the facility will create “jobs in the Seattle area, taking advantage of the deep local capabilities and expertise. As we move into the next phase of growth at Sonoma Bio, we want to unite talent across the thriving life science communities of Seattle and San Francisco.”

“We expect to hire for more than 100 positions across the Seattle area but the exact number for this center has not yet been determined,” a spokesperson for the firm told us.

“This center is designed to be able to house a substantial number of additional employees and will create highly skilled scientific, engineering and manufacturing jobs in the Seattle area, taking advantage of the deep local capabilities and expertise.