Charles River Debuts UK Manufacturing Site

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., a contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO), has opened its high quality (HQ) plasmid DNA Center of Excellence at Bruntwood SciTech’s Alderley Park in Cheshire, UK.

The expansion’s goal is to support growing demand. With turnaround times from 48 hours for off-the-shelf products to custom HQ plasmid DNA manufacturing services within five weeks or more, the expansion helps speed up and safeguards future supply for cell and gene therapy (CGT) developers, as the company aims to grow its end-to-end CGT development capabilities.

The CDMO’s new 16,000 square-foot facility, and the addition of three new manufacturing streams, will also enable the company to quadruple its HQ plasmid DNA capacity to address global supply shortages and support therapeutic developers through rapid access to material.

“In order to address the exponential growth of the cell and gene therapy market, we will continue to broaden our reach and capabilities to meet the growing demand,” says Birgit Girshick, corporate executive vice president and chief operating officer, Charles River. “Our Alderley Park expansion is one of multiple ongoing initiatives to support our global clients, from discovery to delivery.”

Charles River's plasmid DNA Center of Excellence in Cheshire, UK