Thermo Fisher opens $160m MA purification tech plant

As part of a multiyear $650 million CAPEX spend across its bioprocessing business, Thermo Fisher has brought an 85,000 square-foot purification product plant online.

The facility in Chelmsford, Massachusetts opened its doors this week, and is set to supply biomanufacturing customers with downstream technologies, specifically for the purification of biologics and vaccines.

“This market continues to grow and the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies depend on our technologies, services and expertise to help deliver life changing therapies to patients,” said Jean Luo, vice president and general manager, purification and pharma analytics, Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Thermo Fisher’s site in Chelmsford, Massachusetts

“The Chelmsford site will help us provide our customers with the critical resin materials they need as they scale up production and bring new innovations to market. This ultimately helps ensure more patients get the treatments they need faster.”

The facility is located at the Chelmsford site – acquired for $11.68 million by Thermo Fisher in 2020 – is part of the firm’s global bioprocessing supply network, which has been subjected to ongoing investments over the past few years, including a $650 million multi-year CAPEX plan announced in 2021.

Within the past few weeks, Thermo Fisher has opened a $105 million single-use facility in Nashville, Tennessee and a $180 million viral vector facility in Plainville, Massachusetts.

Other expansions include a drug substance facility in St Louis, Missouri, a fill-finish plant in Greenville, North Carolina, as well as single-use scale-up in Singapore, and Bedford (Massachusetts), Innchinnan (UK).