Thermo Fisher Scientific will spend $24 million (€22 million) to up culture media capacity at its Inchinnan, Scotland facility.

The firm said it will add large-volume liquid manufacturing capacity for cell culture media by 2021.

Cory Stevenson, president of Thermo Fisher’s bioproduction business, said increased biopharmaceutical industry demand prompted the investment.

Thermo FIsher has a cell culture media plant northwest of Glasgow, Scotland. Image: iStock/Oleksii Liskonih

“More and more customers are outsourcing their liquid manufacturing to ensure the highest quality while delivering efficiency.”

“This investment will expand capabilities and expertise at our existing cell culture manufacturing center of excellence in the UK to meet growing customer demand for our industry-leading bioproduction products.”

Culture growth

The culture media business is part of Thermo’s life science solutions division. The segment generated revenue of $1.7 billion in the third quarter, up from $1.5 billion in the comparable period last year.

CEO Marc Casper told analysts on a Q3 call that culture media activities are a growth driver.

“Our bioproduction business is doing great. And it really is performing at a very high level. Our customers appreciate the strong positions we have in cell culture media and single use technologies.”

Scotland site

Thermo Fisher acquired the Inchinnan site in 2013 when it bought Life Technologies Corporation.

The firm last expanded the facility in 2015 when it spent £14m to install its Advanced Granulation Technology (AGT).

AGT is a patented platform that – Thermo says – simplifies media manufacturing. The tech is also used at the firm’s operation in Grand Island, New York.

Thermo Fisher last expanded its media business in 2018 when it bought Becton Dickinson and Company’s Advanced Bioprocessing unit for $477m.

At the time it said the BD unit added “complementary cell culture products that expand the segment’s bioproduction offerings to help customers increase yield during production of biologic drugs.”