Abzena secures $65m to expand production capacity, mammalian biologics site set to come online

31-Mar-2022 - Last updated on 31-Mar-2022 at 14:21 GMT

Abzena, a global CDMO specializing in the integrated development and manufacture of complex biologics and bioconjugates, has secured $65M in new funding.

The investment round was led by Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS) and Biospring Partners, among other investors.

The funding will allow Abzena to increase the capacity of its manufacturing capabilities for both clinical and commercial supply. “This new capital will allow us to develop and manufacture a greater number of novel treatments for more patients," said Jonathan Goldman, CEO of Abzena.

In addition to building out existing and new manufacturing facilities, the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) said the capital will boost its drug discovery and cell line service, as well as adding fill/finish capabilities and a new biological testing laboratory.

Abzena is opening a new manufacturing facility in Sanford, North Carolina this year – that site is expected to be online in Q4 - and it will be its sixth in a global network. The facility will be dedicated to cGMP manufacturing capacity for mammalian biologics, with it kitted out to support continuous manufacturing and perfusion.

That capacity expansion move has been driven by an increase in customer demand for clinical and commercial scale 2,000L single use bioreactors across a wide range of therapeutic areas, said the organization.

The goal of the Sanford site, according to a company announcement last year, is to provide integrated asset development with a full suite of in-house services from discovery through clinical and commercial phases without the need for technology transfer.

ADC partnership

In February this year, Abzena formed an ADC manufacturing partnership with BiVictriX Therapeutics plc, an emerging UK biotech.

The collaboration enables BiVictriX to cost-effectively manufacture its anti-cancer ADCs for use in pre-clinical models without the need for extensive manufacturing facilities of its own.

Tiffany Thorn, CEO of BiVictriX, commented: “Utilizing Abzena’s extensive knowledge in the field will be highly valuable as we look to expedite the development of our lead candidate, BVX001, and additional pipeline candidates towards achieving key pre-clinical milestones.”