Fujifilm to Invest $40M in Viral Vector Manufacturing Facility

Fujifilm Corporation will invest $40 million to establish a new processing facility to advance viral vector manufacturing and perform cutting-edge research in the field of advanced therapies in the greater-Boston area.

The investment will go to Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for biologics, viral vaccines, and viral vectors. This will be the third location for viral vector CDMO services provided by Fujifilm, the company stated.

“The strength of Fujifilm's Bio CDMO business lies in its wide-range of capabilities: process development for a variety of biopharmaceutical such as antibodies, recombinant protein, gene therapy, vaccines, oncolytic virus and more, along with flexible facilities that can adapt to small or large scale manufacturing of drug substances, formulation and packaging,” Takatoshi Ishikawa, senior executive vice president and chief life science officer of FUJIFILM Corporation, said in the announcement. 

“We will continue to leverage our expertise in Bio CDMO to further accelerate our offerings in Viral Vectors and Advanced Therapies, with the ultimate goal of fulfilling unmet medical needs,” Ishikawa continued.

The new facility will expand Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies’ manufacturing capacity to support the growing viral vector sector. Additionally, the facility will keep experimental and analytical equipment for viral vector and advanced therapy process development. 

The viral vector sector, according to Fujifilm, is focused on using genes to treat or prevent diseases.

The facility is expected to begin process development operations in the fall of this year and the contract manufacturing services for early phase clinical trials will begin at the site in fall of 2023.

“We are strategically establishing this facility in the greater-Boston area where there is a high concentration of biopharmaceutical companies and academia innovating in the field of advanced therapies,” said Martin Meeson, chief executive officer, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies.

Back in 2014, Fujifilm established a viral vector manufacturing offering at the Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies' site in Texas. As the market for viral vectors continues to expand, the company has invested nearly $120 million in the Texas site to build a new process development facility and to expand existing manufacturing facilities.

Most recently, Fujifilm stated that it invested to provide process and analytical development and cGMP manufacturing of viral vectors in the UK.

“Together these three sites will enable us to respond to our customers' needs to support their viral vector manufacturing process from early clinical stage through to commercialization, to ensure these life-saving treatments are available to patients in need,” Meeson added. 

In the world of medicine, viral vectors are important because they are designed to deliver genetic material into cells. 

Oftentimes, viruses are used as vectors because they deliver the new gene by infecting the cell. But the virus is modified before it can be used to carry therapeutic genes into the cells in order to remove the ability to cause infectious disease.

Some COVID-19 vaccine candidates that are currently under development rely on viral vectors that display the spike protein on their surface but are then inactivated before use. According to experts, this approach is a beneficial advantage because the inactivation process makes the vectors safer, as they cannot replicate.

Even beyond COVID-19, demand for gene therapies has accelerated the need for manufacturing facilities that can facilitate research and development of the treatments.

Other top pharmaceutical companies, including Thermo Fisher Scientific, have also advanced its efforts in gene therapies.

Back in May, the company announced the launch of a $180 million commercial manufacturing site to more than double the company’s commercial viral vector capacity to support increasing demand for the development and manufacturing of cell therapies and vaccines.

The project will add over 200 jobs and complement Thermo Fisher’s recently expanded capacity in Massachusetts and Florida, with the new Massachusetts-based manufacturing site slated to leverage digital connectivity and capabilities to enable operational efficiencies, high quality, data visibility, and advanced operator training, the company said.