Fujifilm invests $850m in CDMO to expand manufacturing capacity for biologics

Fujifilm is investing $850 million in its CDMO subsidiary, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies in order to increase capacity for biologics in the UK and US.

The funding will go towards helping Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies meet the market demands for biopharmaceuticals by significantly increasing the CDMO’s capacity for biologics. This will enable the CDMO to manufacture more biologics, including recombinant vaccines for Covid-19 and advanced gene therapies.

In the US, the CDMO aims to double its cell culture production for recombinant vaccines, whilst in the UK, the company is targeting a 10-fold increase in gene therapy production. More so, the funding will also be used to triple its cell culture capacity in the UK and double its microbial fermentation output.

The United Kingdom cell culture expansion will also include cGMP capacity for continuous manufacturing. Process and analytical development capacity will also be strategically added as part of this investment package.

Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies is aiming to begin the expansions by late 2023.

“Fujifilm will never stop in its relentless pursuit to develop new technologies and provide the necessary manufacturing capacity to meet the needs of our customers and accelerate the growth of its Bio CDMO business,” said Teiichi Goto, president of Fujifilm Corporation. “We will contribute to promoting a healthy society and developing the healthcare industry by providing a stable supply of high-quality biopharmaceuticals with our advanced technologies and facilities.”