Fujifilm expands growth with backing of another CDMO site

Fujifilm Corporation and The Massachusetts Center for Advanced Biological Innovation and Manufacturing (CABIM), whose goal is to ensure new therapeutics, medicines and technologies reach patients quicker, have secured $76 million in financing, signing a lease for a 40,000 square-foot site in Watertown, MA, at The Arsenal on the Charles. The center, which will debut in early 2022, will help advance R&D in cell and gene therapy, gene editing, immunotherapy and biotechnology, while also looking to develop talent in the field of biopharma manufacturing in the greater Boston area.

Fujifilm recently invested over $2 billion in an unnamed US contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) site that is scheduled to begin operations in spring 2025.

Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, a Fujifilm subsidiary, will provide GMP (good manufacturing practice) contract process development and manufacturing services as part of its role in the new center. The initial $76 million fundraising round will be used toward construction, the payment of 40 full-time employees, and toward maintaining the center’s day-to-day operations.

The manufacturing facility is expecting to feature eight cleanrooms, containing a layout that will produce both cell and viral vector products within the physical area. The location will provide quality control, lab, office and meeting space to enable collaboration between the area’s academia, industries and hospitals.