Charles River expands into Alderley Park

Cell and gene therapy solution provider Charles River has announced it is expanding into Bruntwood SciTech’s Alderley Park to boost its manufacturing capacity.

The move will see Charles River construct 17,000 sq ft worth of lab space at Alderley Park, with the company investing £7 million in brand new equipment to support the growing need of customers and to safeguard future supply.

Specifically, expanding into Alderley Park will enable Charles River to increase its high quality plasmid DNA capacity, helping it meet the growing global demand for cell and gene therapeutic developers from discovery to commercialisation. High quality plasmid is a critical starting material for immono-oncology and CRISPR based therapies and it adopts critical features of CGMP manufacturing with a turn-around of six weeks.

Dr Kath Mackay, director of life sciences at Bruntwood SciTech, a joint venture partnership between Bruntwood and Legal & General, said: “The treatment of rare or intractable diseases demands decades of investment, perseverance and patience in order to identify successful therapies and treatments. Charles River’s UK expansion and move to Alderley Park signals its commitment to tackling this challenge by driving the development and manufacture of these vital medicines. It also represents Alderley Park’s growing reputation as a globally-recognised life sciences hub.”

Nick Smith, Alderley Park site director for Charles River, said: “We’re excited to expand our fit-for-purpose plasmid DNA and viral vector development and manufacturing capabilities in Europe. This expansion in particular enhances access to plasmid DNA that is in unprecedented demand. The additional supply of critical starting materials from a trusted and experienced partner enables therapeutic developers to confidently move forward with their programs and supports our mission to accelerate the delivery of innovative treatments to patients.

“Alderley Park is an impressive life sciences hub, and we are honoured to join this thriving ecosystem as we grow. This expansion is one of many to follow as we continue to create a strong, integrated global network to reliably support our customers from discovery to commercialisation.”

Charles River joins an existing cluster of drug discovery and development businesses based at the UK’s largest single site life science campus which also includes the likes of the Medicines Discovery Catapult, Sygnature Discovery, Evotec, and RedX Pharma. By joining Bruntwood SciTech’s national network, Charles River will also be able to tap into a wider collective of industry collaborators. 

The expansion follows Charles River’s acquisition of Keele-based Cobra Biologics, a plasmid DNA and viral vector cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), in March 2021 and will see an additional 50 new positions created, from apprentices through to experienced scientists.