Samsung Biologics has updated the expected completion date for its $1.5 billion fifth plant. But in this op-ed, we ask whether this BIO-timed announcement is demonstrative of engineering expertise, shoddy forecasting, or a rabid media campaign? While industry has flocked to BIO this week, a family bereavement has meant this dejected journalist remains at home across the pond, sifting through the hundreds of prewritten press announcements trickling out of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC). One such release being…

CDMO WuXi Biologics will double bioreactor capacity at a facility in Wuppertal and add a second filling line at a plant in Leverkusen due to increased European demand. China-headquartered WuXi Biologics bolstered its presence in Europe in 2020, adding first a drug product plant in Leverkusen, Germany and then a drug substance plant in nearby Wuppertal. Three years on and the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) has pledged an undisclosed amount to expand both sites to support “global clients’…

After leading the funding round, Charles River Laboratories will implement its biologics testing lab RightSource at Wheeler Bio’s biologics drug substance plant in Oklahoma. Charles River Laboratories (CRL) already has a connection with contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Wheeler, having led its series A financing round in October 2022 to help expand a drug substance facility in Oklahoma. Now CRL has decided to set up shop inside the facility. CRL will deploy and operate platform-based satellite lab RightSource at the CDMO’s…

Roche is planning to sell or close the legacy Genentech facility in Solano County, California citing a shift in its pipeline from large-scale monoclonal antibodies to more personalized modalities. In 1994, Genentech chose to invest $250 million to build a manufacturing facility to support its burgeoning biologics portfolio. When it opened four years later, the Vacaville facility was the world’s largest biomanufacturing plant. Over the subsequent 25 years, the site has produced a number of monoclonal antibodies for Genentech –…

MilliporeSigma will invest €35 million ($37 million) in biosafety testing at its Stirling and Glasgow sites in Scotland. MilliporeSigma – the life sciences division of Germany’s Merck KGaA – will invest the funds into a 1,200 square meter facility in Glasgow. The life sciences firm said the plant will have molecular biology and sequencing services, as well as increasing the testing capacity its current space with biosafety testing, viral clearance suites, and analytical development. Biosafety testing ensures that drugs are safe, efficacious,…

The funding will support the launch of a CGT facility in Bristol, UK and cement the firm’s CDMO status, says eXmoor pharma. Cell and gene therapy (CGT) firm eXmoor said the expansion, funded by a $35 million Series A financing round, will complete its movement into a full-service CGT contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). “eXmoor has been supporting the CGT industry for the last 15 years developing right first time CMC strategies and manufacturing facilities (via our translation and…

The co-investment with the Governments of Canada and British Columbia will fund construction of antibody-based facilities to bolster capabilities and infrastructure. The CA$701 million ($515 million) investment aims to strengthen Canada’s capabilities and infrastructure for drug development, production, and clinical research. Additionally, it will delivery antibody drugs to patients throughout Phase I clinical trials. Vancouver-based antibody manufacturer AbCellera anticipates investing CA$401 million ($294 million) into the project, and the Governments of Canada and British Columbia will contribute CA$300 million ($221…

Enzymatic DNA manufacturer Touchlight has repurposed a derelict waterworks in London, UK and redeveloped it into a DNA production facility. While it is not common practice that a Victorian derelict waterworks located near to the River Thames in Hampton, London is repurposed into a DNA manufacturing plant, CEO of Touchlight, Karen Fallen told BioProcess Insider “this was a unique option presented to us, and we didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to be situated in such an attractive location.”…

Thermo Fisher Scientific said the opening of its drug product facility in Singapore will advance research, development, and production of medicines and vaccines. In October 2020, the firm announced it would add two filling lines in Singapore to support growing demand for sterile injectables. The expansion was valued at $130 million at time of construction but Thermo Fisher said it could not disclose specific financials now the plant is open. The facility has been established with the support of the…

Moderna has bought an empty biomanufacturing facility in Marlborough and is planning a 60,000 square-foot expansion as it continues to invest in internal capabilities. The agreement sees messenger RNA (mRNA) titan Moderna add a second facility in Massachusetts, a new but empty plant located at 149 Hayes Memorial Drive, bought from the Oxford Properties Group. The 24-acre parcel of land includes a 140,000 square-foot facility to house manufacturing and office space. According to notes from a City of Marlborough public…