JHL Biotech Selects GE's FlexFactory(TM) Biomanufacturing Platform for Taiwan Facility
CHALFONT ST GILES, UK & HSINCHU, Taiwan, Dec 02, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- GE Healthcare Life Sciences, GE +0.08% , and JHL Biotech today announced that GE Healthcare has completed installation of its FlexFactory(TM) biomanufacturing platform at JHL Biotech's Research Center and manufacturing plant in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The new manufacturing platform will follow current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) and be fully operational by the end of 2013. It is similar to the production process at JHL Biotech's KUBio modular biopharmaceutical factory currently under construction by GE Healthcare at the Biolake Science Park in Wuhan, China.
GE Healthcare's FlexFactory is a centrally automated, flexible biomanufacturing platform. It allows manufacturers to quickly and easily establish biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity within an existing building or as part of a new facility. Designed to help manufacturers such as JHL Biotech to rapidly respond to local healthcare needs and to support global customers in bringing lifesaving treatments to market more quickly, FlexFactory is comprised of single-use technologies and associated process hardware as well as all necessary automation and control components for start-to-finish manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals.
JHL Biotech's FlexFactory in Taiwan will be used for cell line development, process development, and cGMP manufacturing in pre-clinical and early-stage clinical work. In addition, it will serve as a "proving ground" for JHL Biotech for technology transfer. GE Healthcare's experienced Shanghai Fast Trak team will validate equipment at the site and will train local JHL Biotech staff.
JHL Biotech's facility includes two 500L single-use bioreactors, with the option to expand to four if greater throughput is required. FlexFactory enables JHL Biotech to develop manufacturing processes prior to launching full-scale manufacturing operations in its Taiwan facility and prior to its KUBio factory in Wuhan becoming fully operational in early 2015.
Olivier Loeillot, General Manager of Enterprise Solutions, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, commented, "Our offering of tools, technologies and services for biomanufacturing has strength in both breadth and depth. For JHL Biotech we have been able to take an approach which recognises the differing requirements of multiple sites, whilst at the same time allowing them to replicate processes. FlexFactory is highly complementary to our KUBio offering, primarily aimed at those organisations repurposing or expanding an existing site."
Racho Jordanov, Co-founder, President and CEO of JHL Biotech, added, "JHL Biotech will make world-class biopharmaceuticals affordable to more people by utilizing innovations such as FlexFactory. Our biomanufacturing capability increases with the installation of cGMP manufacturing in our Taiwan facility. Because our biomanufacturing capabilities are shared across our facilities in Asia, we give our partners a unique offering."
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. GE GE +0.08% works on things that matter - great people and technologies taking on tough challenges. From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics to drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and performance improvement solutions, GE Healthcare helps medical professionals deliver great healthcare to their patients. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.
About JHL Biotech
JHL Biotech is an emerging biopharmaceuticals company founded by a group of biotech veterans with decades of manufacturing experience and backed by a consortium of top-tier venture capital firms including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers China Fund, Sequoia Capital, Burrill & Co and China Development Industrial Bank (CBID). The vision of the company is to provide world-class process development and manufacturing services to companies developing and commercializing high-quality, affordable biologic medicines. A key component in achieving this vision is to build and operate state-of-the-art facilities in compliance with United States, European Union and International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) regulations and guidelines. JHL Biotech, together with GE, has already completed facilities in Taiwan to support all pre-clinical and early clinical activities for biologics development; facilities to support commercial manufacturing in Wuhan, China will be completed in early 2015. With this comprehensive infrastructure in place, JHL Biotech is uniquely positioned to deliver manufacturing solutions to its worldwide partners. For more information about the company, visit our website at www.jhlbiotech.com.
SOURCE: GE Healthcare Life Sciences
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