Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies

History

2021: Fujifilm invests $850 million in gene therapy

At the end of June 2021, it became known that Fujifilm will invest $850 million in gene therapy development of its CDMO Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies division. The company will divide the funds provided between its plants in the UK and the USA. The planned costs "are mainly aimed at significantly increasing the capacity to produce biopharmaceuticals, such as COVID-19 vaccines and advanced treatments," said a company spokeswoman.

Fujifilm invests $850 million in gene therapy

Fujifilm states that investment funds will double the capacity of plants to cultivate recombinant vaccines. Sites in Texas and North Carolina are helping produce the Novavax vaccine against coronavirus infection, NVX-CoV2373, and the company has already accelerated its planned expansion of production capacity, increasing the number of employees at plants in the United States by about 260 people. It is expected that the production of gene therapies in the British division of Fujifilm in Teesside will increase tenfold: the volume of cell cultivation will triple, and the volume of microbial fermentation will double. The company said the expansion of the British cell culture segment will also create opportunities for the continuous production of new drugs.

Fujifilm also presented a project for a third viral vector factory, which it will house in Watertown, Massachusetts. Fujifilm plans to create a separate production and innovation center here, which will also develop viral vectors and cell drugs. Fujifilm reported that, together with the Massachusetts Center for Advanced Biological Innovation and Production, it allocated about $76 million for the construction of the plant. In addition, the company plans to build a $2 billion cell culture plant in Holly Springs, North Carolina.^[1]

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