Fujifilm expands C&G therapy options with acquisition of recombinant protein maker
Fujifilm is expanding its footprint within the US yet again, this time with another East Coast acquisition within driving distance of its new $2 billion headquarters.
Fujifilm Irvine Scientific has acquired recombinant protein maker Shenandoah Biotechnology. The Pennsylvania manufacturer makes cytokines and growth factors and recently launched a CTG grade line that was made in its new facility. This acquisition will allow Fujifilm to easily transition between preclinical and clinical phases of trials.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, the company said in a release, and it will close later in March. The deal will help Fujifilm get closer to its sales goal of $850 million by 2025, CEO Yutaka Yamaguchi said in a statement.
“Fujifilm Irvine Scientific is committed to helping customers bring advanced therapies to market faster, and to use innovation to make therapies more accessible,” said Yamaguchi. “Shenandoah Biotechnology’s portfolio of recombinant proteins complement our advanced cell culture solutions and expertise in bioprocessing, providing our collective customers a single point of access for their life science research, discovery, and cell and gene therapy needs. “
Recombinant proteins are made by cloning engineered DNA into expression systems for the large-scale production of proteins of interest. Growth factors and cytokines are both essential for cell and gene therapies, and regenerative medicines or R&D and manufacturing.
With the acquisition, Fujifilm will welcome all of the company’s employees to its team. In December, it opened the doors to its massive Netherlands campus, where it saw an expansion that placed the company among the top five with the highest amount of manufacturing capacity. It has very publicly been focused on the buildout of Fujifilm Diosynth’s headquarters, a $2 billion project in Holly Springs, NC to manufacture large-scale cell culture drug substance, that will also feature a viral gene therapy cGMP facility and a cGMP mammalian cell culture facility.
In a statement, Teiichi Goto, the CEO of the Fujifilm Corporation, said: At Fujifilm, our goal has always been to bring new value to society through the creation of innovative technologies, products and services. The acquisition of Shenandoah Biotechnology marks an important milestone for us to establish a leading position as a partner for pharmaceutical customers in the rapidly-growing market of advanced therapy. Fujifilm will, by maximizing our group synergy, continue to expand Life Sciences Business while contributing to the creation of new therapies that fulfill unmet medical needs.
Last month, Fujifilm launched a strategic investment fund managed by a new group within the company that will target partnerships with early-stage biotech and pharmacy around the world with a focus on regenerative medicine, cell therapeutics and drug discovery. That came just weeks after it announced a $100 million deal to take on Atara Biotherapeutics California manufacturing site and license out its allogeneic T-cell therapy platform for patients with cancer and autoimmune disease.
March 23, 2022
