Galapagos, a biotechnology company headquartered in Belgium, plans to split into two entities: a newly formed company (name to be announced at a later date) that will focus on building a pipeline of innovative drugs through transformative transactions, and Galapagos, which will continue to develop its cell therapy manufacturing platform in oncology.
Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca plans to invest $3.5 billion in the US to expand the company’s research and manufacturing footprint by the end of 2026.
In a move to launch its cell therapy platforms for critical cancer trials in the US, AstraZeneca is investing $300 million in a new facility in Rockville, Maryland. The site will initially focus on the production of T-cell therapies, with the possibility of supporting other disease areas in the future.
AstraZeneca has agreed to acquire Gracell Biotechnologies, a Chinese developer of cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, for up to $1.2 billion. Only on Dec. 12, 2023, AstraZeneca announced that it was planning to acquire Icosavax for $1.2 billion.
Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca entered into a collaboration and investment agreement with Cellectis, a French clinical-stage biotechnology company, to accelerate the development of therapeutics across oncology, immunology and rare diseases.
Fluor Corporation announced today that it has completed construction of Bayer’s first global Cell Therapy Launch Facility in Berkeley, California. Completion was celebrated on October 10, 2023, at the new facility with local officials, dignitaries, Bayer employees, and clients.
Bayer has opened a new cell therapy production plant in Berkeley, California, USA, for the production of of BlueRock Therapeutics’ bemdaneprocel (BRT-DA01), an investigational cell therapy currently in evaluation for treating Parkinson’s disease. BlueRock Therapeutics is a clinical-stage cell therapy company and a wholly owned, independently managed subsidiary of Bayer.
Last week, Lonza and Vertex Pharmaceuticals broke ground on a new US facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to manufacture cell therapies for diabetes.
Cellares, a US-based integrated development and manufacturing organization (IDMO), has secured $255 million in Series C funding to establish a cell therapy development facility in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
Clinical stage biotechs Adaptimmune and TCR2 Therapeutics have agreed to merge, forming what they said would be a “preeminent cell therapy company focused on creating solid tumors” with projected sales of about $27 billion by 2026.
Catalent has opened a new commercial-scale cell therapy manufacturing facility at its European center of excellence for cell therapies in Gosselies, Belgium.
Germany’s Merck has opened its second production facility for viral vectors at Carlsbad, California, a move the company said significantly expands its global CDMO footprint. The new €100 million plant will more than double the company’s existing capacity to support large-scale commercial and industrial manufacturing for viral gene therapy.
