Cytiva and Pall to spend $1.5bn on manufacturing capacity expansion, new hires
The investment will include the doubling of capacity in multiple site locations as well as two new sites: one in the UK and one in the US.
This is the largest investment in capacity to date for Pall and Cytiva, following five acquisitions made by the companies this year and an additional US$500m in previously-announced investments.
The life sciences focused duo also plan to hire around 2,000 new employees over the next two years two support growth.
This investment, continued the companies, also looks to address some of the key challenges highlighted in the Global Biopharma Resilience Index, conducted by Longitude, a Financial Times company, and published by Cytiva in March 2021, including hiring and training talent, R&D collaboration, supply chain resilience, manufacturing models, as well as government policy and regulation.
Where the money will go
The capacity expansion will increase the manufacture of key products used to make biologic medicines. The companies are investing:
- US$600m+ in chromatography resins – media for analyzing or purifying biomolecules – establishing a new manufacturing site in the US.
- US$400m+ in cell culture media – in liquid or powder form this is used to grow and cultivate cells before they are purified – expanding operations in the US, UK, and Austria.
- US$300m+ in single-use technologies – including bioreactor bags for growing cells used to make personalized medicines and syringe filters for scientific research – expanding operations in the US and the UK, as well as fitting out a new facility in Cardiff, Wales.
- US$200m+ for continuing expansion work in Cytiva and Pall Corporation’s sites across China and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the US.
Shorter lead times
The funds will accelerate capacity expansion plans already underway at 13 Pall and Cytiva sites making biotechnology products for COVID-19 and other critical programs.
Production of cell culture media at Cytiva’s site in Logan, Utah is planned to double in 2023. This will be done by converting 25 000 m2 of land into new manufacturing lines, distribution hubs, and clean rooms as well as creating 250 new jobs locally. Combined with the acquisition of Intermountain Life Sciences, a manufacturer of liquid cell culture media and buffers, customers being supplied out of Logan will see shorter lead times in delivery of those products, said Cytiva.
Single use technology capacity
As part of today’s investment, Pall said it is to expand single-use manufacturing operations in China at the site of recently acquired Austar. Plans are also underway to expand Cytiva’s partnership with Wego in China to build more single-use technology manufacturing capacity for the region.
A new 11 000 m2 facility in Cardiff, Wales, is being fitted out to manufacture single-use bioprocessing equipment including jumper tubing assemblies, cell bags, and ÄKTA flow kits. The first products are expected to be manufactured at that site before year end, they said, and a a local hiring drive has begun to fill 250 new jobs at that site over the next two years, primarily in manufacturing, as well as warehouse operators, material handlers, and in R&D.
Resin manufacturing, membrane and filter products
The vision for the new Cytiva manufacturing facility in the US is to replicate and complement the company’s resin manufacturing capabilities at its site in Uppsala, Sweden.
The location of the new site will be announced at a later date, said Cytiva. It plans to hire 400 people in the US and Sweden over the next two years to facilitate expansion plans.
Additionally, said Pall, its investments at sites in Newquay, UK, in Pensacola, Florida, and in San Diego, California, have increased its capacity to make and deliver membrane and filter products.
Cytiva said it has already funded a new manufacturing facility in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and a new cleanroom in Westborough, Massachusetts, in the US. Its new cell and gene therapy manufacturing site and center of excellence is scheduled to open in Switzerland in 2022.