The site located in the greater Vancouver area will expand manufacturing capacity of aseptic filling machines by over 200%, says Cytiva.
The 126,200 square-foot site is situated next to Fraser River in Burnaby, which is less than twenty minutes from Vancouver International Airport, and one hour away from the US border. Work is still ongoing at the existing production site, which the firm acquired from Vanrx Pharmasystems in February 2021, but the firm said a larger space was needed due to customer and industry demand.
Manufacturing operations will start at the site in September this year with production expected to be fully transferred to the new site by the end of 2022.
Cytiva ribbon cutting ceremony in Vancouver. Image c/o Cytiva
“This expansion reflects the growing industry acceptance of what is a fundamentally different technology than what came before,” a spokesperson for Cytiva told BioProcess Insider.
“It gives us plenty of room to meet the steadily growing demand for idea to injection solutions for our customers. It also enables greater collaboration between Cytiva and its aseptic filling / drug product customers with our center of excellence for user Group meetings, where our global customer base meets to discuss joint regulatory, validation and usage efforts as well as having dedicated spaces for customers conducting acceptance tests. “
According to Cytiva, its robotic aseptic filling machine known as workcells has the ability to reduce risk and enhance flexibility. The machines provide gloveless, robotic aseptic filling capacity for final drug product into syringes, cartridges, and vials.
“The biggest advantage is the reduction of human impact on both the environment and filling process in the filling process and the gloveless aseptic environment dramatically reduce particle contamination,” the spokesperson said.
Alongside workcell production capacity, the site will house 20 build bays outfitted with customizable electrical and mechanical infrastructure changeable for shifting production needs. Additionally, Cytiva says it will have motion sensor LED lighting to conserve energy.
Once fully operational, Cytiva anticipates the site to have around 200 employees and noted that there will be room for future expansion.
Part of the reason the firm selected Vancouver was due to the “amazing local talent in both the tech and life science industries,” said the spokesperson.
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