Touchlight Completes Expansion of UK DNA Manufacturing Facility to Meet Growing Demand in Genetic Medicine
Pioneering Company Triples Capacity and Establishes One of the World's Largest DNA Manufacturing Sites
Key highlights:
- Touchlight completes expansion of its UK manufacturing facility, tripling its production capacity to meet the growing global demand for DNA in genetic medicine treatments.
- Touchlight's proprietary dbDNA technology enables rapid and scalable manufacturing of GMP DNA, overcoming technical challenges associated with large-scale plasmid DNA production.
- Touchlight has secured contracts with top global biopharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Lonza, solidifying its position as a reliable supplier of DNA for critical genetic medicine applications.
Touchlight, a company specialising in enzymatic DNA production for genetic medicine treatments, has completed the redevelopment and expansion of its manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom. The facility is located in a repurposed Victorian waterworks on the banks of the River Thames. The state-of-the-art facility's manufacturing capacity has tripled, now capable of producing over 8kg of DNA annually, exceeding the current global supply of plasmid DNA for genetic medicine. The facility includes 11 suites, including two class B filling suites with class A filling cabinets, warehousing, and a quality control laboratory capability. It has already received a successful customer quality audit from a major pharmaceutical company.
Jonny Ohlson, Touchlight's Executive Chair and Founder, highlighted the company's belief in providing scientists with inspiring workspaces. The decision to transform the derelict waterworks into a GMP manufacturing facility may have seemed unconventional, but the converted Victorian buildings now house one of the world's largest DNA manufacturing sites. Ohlson expressed confidence in the Victorian predecessors' pride in the facility's conversion.
The expansion significantly increases Touchlight's capacity to meet the growing demand for DNA from biopharmaceutical companies. Touchlight's proprietary doggybone DNA (dbDNA) technology overcomes technical challenges associated with large-scale plasmid DNA production. The enzymatic manufacturing process of dbDNA generates a minimal, linear, double-stranded, covalently closed DNA vector. This technology allows for rapid, synthetic, and scalable GMP DNA manufacturing, accommodating gene sequences ranging from 500bp to 20kb and sequences typically unstable in plasmid DNA.
The demand for DNA from biopharmaceutical companies is rising due to its critical role in genetic medicines, including mRNA vaccines, gene therapies, gene-editing treatments, and novel cancer therapies. Touchlight has contracts to supply many top biopharmaceutical companies globally, including Pfizer and Lonza.
Touchlight's Chief Executive Officer, Karen Fallen, highlighted the benefits of doggybone DNA over traditional DNA, offering an affordable and scalable alternative as the biopharmaceutical industry invests in genetic medicine. The facility expansion positions Touchlight to contribute to the potential of this new class of medicine as a manufacturing partner.
Touchlight's headquarters at the Morelands and Riverdale Buildings have also been expanded. The new 515m² facility now houses 15 state-of-the-art good manufacturing practice (GMP) DNA manufacturing suites, tripling the company's DNA manufacturing capacity. The expansion follows the acceptance of a Drug Master File for GMP-grade dbDNA by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and subsequent FDA approval of the first investigational new drug application (IND) using dbDNA.
Touchlight's manufacturing program received a substantial grant from the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, supporting manufacturing projects in the UK's life sciences sector. The company also completed a $125 million fundraise in 2021.
The Morelands and Riverdale Buildings, originally a Victorian waterworks, have been carefully renovated to preserve their historical features while accommodating research, development, and manufacturing activities. The project included architectural design and engineering work to integrate the Victorian architecture with modern laboratories, meeting rooms, manufacturing suites, and workspaces.
Touchlight's expansion and cutting-edge technology position the company to play a crucial role in the genetic medicine industry, contributing to the development of transformative treatments and therapies.