KBI boosts analytical services with Belgium expansion

The laboratories in Belgium will help international biopharma firms consolidate their outsourced analytical work to meet EU regulations, says KBI Biopharma.

Contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) KBI Biopharma has opened laboratories in Leven, Belgium offering analytical development, formulation development, biopharmaceutical characterization and cGMP quality control testing.

According to CEO Tim Kelly, the lab expansion was first announced in 2015, when the CDMO was acquired by JSR Corporation.

“JSR’s decision to expand its A3 production capacity in Leuven created an ideal opportunity to increase our organizational synergy and leverage the Leuven expansion to create KBI’s first service offering in Europe,” he told BioProcess Insider. “Detailed planning began in mid-2016 and construction began in earnest in mid-2017.”

The size of the investment has not been disclosed.

Initial projects performed in Leuven have supported existing KBI clients. “Many of our long-term client partners are excited about the opportunity to consolidate their outsourced analytical work in Europe with KBI in order to meet EU regulations,” said Kelly. “In parallel, we are engaging with a number of new European clients with whom we can partner more effectively due to our new local presence.”

CDMO expansion

The news is the latest push for the firm’s analytical capabilities, previously bolstered through the acquisition of two protein analytics companies, Alliance Protein Labs in 2017, and Elion Labs earlier this year.

“Our expansion in Leuven is the latest example of our commitment to analytics as the key enabler of biopharmaceutical development and our dedication to serve all our clients more effectively by creating a new solution for the European market,” said Kelly.

The Belgian laboratories are the latest expansion for KBI overall, which has grown its presence in the third-party manufacturing space through its acquisition by JSR and the further addition of cell line development firm Selexis in 2017.

“Over the past few years, we have created many exciting new opportunities to advance our clients’ pipeline products, including commercial manufacturing for both microbial and mammalian platforms, expanded clinical production capacity, industry-leading cell line technology through Selexis, and cell therapy development and production services,” Kelly told us.