Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies opens new UK lab

The lab – at the Wilton Centre science park in Redcar, Cleveland – will provide support for customers developing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) using Fujifilm’s Saturn cell culture process development platform.

COO Paul Found said by “by dedicating these facilities and bringing new technologies we will be effectively supporting our customer’s in the rapid delivery of monoclonal antibody therapies to patients all over the world​.”

Expansion​

The expansion is part of the $130m (€108m) bioreactor and processing capacity increase programme Fujifilm announced in April​.

The majority of the money was spent on the firm’s new facility in Texas, with the remainder being used to up capacity at its site in Billingham, UK.

The opening of the Teeside lab comes six months​ after GE Healthcare installed a single-use purification system with bioreactors at the Billingham facility.

In its first quarter fiscal report last month​ Fujifilm, the contract manufacturing organisation’s (CMO) parent company, said customer demand for flexible capacity prompted the investment.

“In order to respond rapidly to demands for customer for increased production and other future expansions in demand, the company is also bolstering its capacity to produce bio-pharmaceuticals at its production centres​.”