Fujifilm Biotechnologies Unveils Biomanufacturing & Process Development UK Expansion

Fujifilm Biotechnologies, a global contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) for biologics, vaccines, and advanced therapies, recently celebrated the grand opening of its expanded site in Teesside, UK. The significantly expanded presence, funded through a total investment of approximately £400m from Fujifilm Corporation, Japan, includes the opening of the largest single-use biopharmaceutical CDMO facility in the UK, located at the existing Fujifilm Biotechnologies site. 

The UK expansion represents the newest addition to Fujifilm Biotechnologies’ global manufacturing network. It introduces 2,000 L and 5,000 L single-use bioreactors with a total capacity up to 19,000 L, to provide small- and mid-scale antibody manufacturing, with the flexibility to expand to support customer programmes as needed. The 110,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility will be operational in the first half of 2026. 

In parallel, the opening of the Bioprocess Innovation Centre UK (BIC UK), delivers a state-of-the-art laboratory for both high-throughput and continuous process development capabilities, and will operate as a global centre of excellence for biomanufacturing innovation and process development. The over 102,200 sq. ft. facility doubles the campus’s existing lab footprint and complements the sites’ expanded Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) manufacturing capabilities. 

"Over the past decade, Fujifilm has invested more than £5 billion globally to grow our CDMO  business – demonstrating our steadfast commitment to increasing our production capacity and capabilities to meet the growing demand for innovative medicines and vaccines for patients around the globe,” said Toshihisa Iida, Director, Corporate VP, General Manager of Life Sciences Strategy Headquarters and Bio CDMO Division, Fujifilm, and Chairman,  Fujifilm Biotechnologies. “The opening of our UK expansion will enable us to support our  partners’ products from the process development stage to early clinical manufacturing – ranging  from low-volume therapies for ultra-rare diseases to commercial biologics, all from one site." 

"This site provides pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners with enhanced scalability, speed to market, and cross-site technology transfer, helping to ensure reliable medicine supply for patients in the UK and globally,” said Lars Petersen, President and CEO, Fujifilm Biotechnologies. “This represents the first small and mid-scale manufacturing site in our global kojoX ecosystem, which provides our partners with supply chain flexibility and agility. In leveraging kojoX across our sites, we are creating a framework where our partners can  easily scale up and out from process development through clinical and commercial.” 

As part of Fujifilm’s sustainability goals, the new manufacturing building will be fully electrified and will maximise the use of renewable energy going forward.