Seattle-based contract drug maker AGC Biologics continues to grow its manufacturing footprint with plans to expand capacity for plasmid DNA and messenger RNA production at its facility in Heidelberg, Germany.
The expansion will boost AGC’s capacity from a current 100 liters to 1,000 liters for a variety of different biologics. Plans for the facility include a new cleanroom for mRNA development and manufacturing, a process development lab for microbial protein and C> projects, and more warehouse space.
The company expects the additions to the plant, which has experience with E. coli, Pichia pastoris and other microbial systems, to be fully operational in 2023.
“With global pDNA and mRNA markets experiencing record growth, we are focused on ensuring our facilities worldwide offer innovative services that meet the needs of therapeutics developers,” Patricio Massera, AGC’s chief executive, said in a statement.
RELATED: AGC Biologics expands further in Colorado with purchase of Novartis Gene Therapies plant
The project comes on the heels of AGC breaking ground on a new multipurpose facility in Copenhagen, plus its acquisition of a cell and gene therapy plant in Longmont, Colorado. The company has also expanded a site in Milan.
In July, AGC inked a deal to snap up the Novartis Gene Therapies plant in Longmont, which is just down the road from its 20,000-liter mammalian facility in Boulder. That purchase was preceded by news in April that the company was expanding its operations in Milan and reports it would spend $194 million to upgrade and add production to its Copenhagen operation.
AGC acquired its Milan facility in 2020 from Italian C> biotech Molecular Medicine (MolMed).