Abzena invests $20m into two manufacturing suites at San Diego facility

The good manufacturing practice (GMP) facility will include two new manufacturing suites, which will see a 500L single use bioreactor and one at 2000L scale added to the space. According to a spokesperson for Abzena, the additional capacity is expected to be available in 2019 and 2020.

The investment will also add a new ambr 15 automated high throughput bioreactor at its Cambridge, UK, facility to bolster its cell line development. Its Bristol, Pennsylvania, site will gain a multifume hood laboratory to boost its synthetic chemistry capacity.

The decision to invest was driven by customer demand by existing and incoming customers already using the company’s 500L capacity bioreactor, according to a company spokesperson

“The strong growth in the biologics and antibody drug conjugate sector has allowed Abzena to expand all three of its sites over the last couple of years. We have reported strong continuous growth year-on-year and expect this to accelerate.”​

The spokesperson also added that the company is finalizing logistics plans regarding the expansion and may look to recruit to meet demand.