Celltechna opens $54m gene therapy center in Lithuania

Contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Celltechna, a part of the Northway Group, has broken ground on a gene therapy center in Vilnius, Lithuania. The €50 million ($54 million) facility is designed to support future expansion, enabling the addition of two research and development centers and six production buildings.  

Announced in November 2023, the facility supports viral vector and plasmid cGMP manufacturing, cell banking and full characterization, and analytical and quality testing, including viral clearance studies. The facility will employ more than 100 people. 

Founder of the gene therapy center, Vladas Algirdas Bumelis said, “This facility will be used for innovative gene therapy research and production of gene therapy components. I believe that with the excellent conditions to work in Lithuania, our scientists and biotechnologists will create several significant breakthroughs and enable the life sciences industry to reach a new level of global leadership.” 

According to the firm, the three-part Bio City project will result in the largest biotech city in Europe and cover an area equivalent to 15 soccer fields. In total there will be four manufacturing plants and two scientific research centers, employing more than 2,400 people. 

Bio City I includes the Group’s Vilnius and Boston sites, whereas Bio City II will comprise of the Gene Therapy Centre, mammalian production center, a life sciences industry hub smart services center and a biotechnology innovation center by 2030. 

Bio City III, to be situated in Vilnius’s innovation industrial park, is expected to include a microbial production center and an innovative center for cell, tissue, and organ engineering as well as 3D bioprinting. 

The Bio City project aims to boost Lithuania’s presence in the global biotech space by establishing four advanced biomanufacturing facilities and two research centers. 

The firm did not respond when contacted by this publication.