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Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies has announced that it has commissioned on time its new mammalian cGMP Cell Banking Facility (CBF) at its Billingham, UK site.

The new CBF is available to the company’s customers either as part of a larger development and manufacturing programme, or as a stand-alone service. It forms the second stage of a major expansion of the company’s mammalian cell culture capabilities at the site, following installation last year of new process development and scale-up capabilities. The asset will support delivery of manufacturing programmes for both Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies’ Billingham UK, and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA facilities.

The next stage of the company’s expansion will be the commissioning of a new cGMP manufacturing facility, also in Billingham, which is well under construction, and due on-line in early Q4 2013. This manufacturing facility, which will primarily utilise single-use technologies, has been designed with input from regulatory authorities and key customers, to offer high flexibility for meeting customers’ needs and setting new standards. It will initially offer 200L and 1000L single-use bioreactors, with 2000L bioreactors already planned for 2014.

Steve Bagshaw, Managing Director, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies UK, said “I am delighted that we have commissioned the Cell Bank Facility within a year of its commencement, and have already started work on our first customer programme. This is the next step in our strategy to grow our services in the CDMO field, becoming a world-class player across both microbial and mammalian cell culture platforms, offering a full life cycle support for our customers”.

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