The acquisition comes just three months after the company announced an expansion of its Center of Excellence for Cell and Gene Therapy in Milan, Italy, which is due to complete next year.

AGC Biologics said the facility, just 16 miles (25.6 km) from its mammalian plant in Boulder, Colorado, will provide significant additional capacity and space to continue to expand its end-to-end cell and gene therapy offering. The site will add 622,000 square feet of operations and office space within six buildings on a 229-acre campus, and the company aims to hire a “significant percentage” of the Novartis staff at Longmont.

“The Longmont facility fits perfectly into AGC’s long-term growth and expansion plans,” said AGC Biologics CEO Patricio Massera. “This move is driven by our dedication to satisfy the needs of our current and future customers.”

The Seattle, Washington-headquartered firm said it has invested heavily in its cell and gene therapy services since its acquisition of Italy’s MolMed in 2020. It claims to now be one of the very few CDMOs in the world that offers end-to-end services in the field, including plasmid production of all grades.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist