The new facility will accelerate Kyowa Kirin’s development and production of biologic therapies for patients with debilitating diseases with unmet medical needs.

“I am very excited to announce that Kyowa Kirin decided to construct a new manufacturing plant for biologics drug substance in the United States,” said Toshiyuki Kurata, Chief Supply Chain Officer, and Global Manufacturing Head at Kyowa Kirin. “The new facility will be scalable with our Takasaki Plant, to help ease technology transfer between the two plants and add production capacity. We believe this will help accelerate drug development and production.”

The new facility will manufacture innovative biologic therapies, including next-generation antibodies, for Kyowa Kirin’s planned clinical trials and future commercial use. It will create more resilient and efficient supply lines that can readily withstand shifting global forces. Additional land will allow for future expansion, should the company’s portfolio necessitate greater capacity as its pipeline programs advance.

The Sanford facility will round out Kyowa Kirin’s global manufacturing network, which includes sites in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, and Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. The new facility will build upon the manufacturing methods and technologies in the Takasaki plant to further enhance the company’s productivity and efficiency. By locating its new site in North Carolina’s robust life sciences hub, Kyowa Kirin will benefit from a network of biomanufacturing resources.