Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Waltham, Mass.) expanded its cell and gene therapy capabilities with the opening of its new previously announced viral vector manufacturing facility in Plainville, Mass. The 300,000 square foot, state-of-the-art site will add approximately 300 jobs to support the development, testing and manufacture of viral vectors, which are critical components in the development and commercialization of gene therapies.
New state-of-the-art facility in Plainville, Mass., to manufacture materials central to production of gene-based therapeutics (Source: Thermo Fisher Scientific)
“Plainville is an impressive addition to our pharma services network as we continue to invest and innovate cell and gene therapy services, products and workflows,” said Marc N. Casper, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific. “We are enabling our customers to speed their scientific discoveries in cell and gene therapy while also supporting their manufacturing needs, whether they are early in the development process or ready to transition to clinical or commercial scale.”
The new cGMP-compliant Plainville facility significantly expands the company’s clinical and commercial viral vector capacity to six sites in the U.S and Europe. The site features sustainable construction design, flexible laboratory and production suites, adjacent warehousing, and office space, as well as Thermo Fisher’s advanced bioproduction and analytical instrumentation technologies.
“Massachusetts is fortunate to have an industry-leading company like Thermo Fisher Scientific headquartered in our state, contributing to our growing life sciences, biotech and manufacturing sectors and creating high-quality jobs,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Thermo Fisher Scientific’s new manufacturing facility in Plainville will be one of the largest of its kind and will deepen the company’s ties and expand its employee footprint in Massachusetts.”
“Massachusetts is the world capital of life sciences, with a footprint of biomedical innovation that extends well beyond Cambridge and Boston,” said Congressman Jake Auchincloss. “Thermo Fisher Scientific’s new, state-of-the-art viral vector manufacturing facility in Plainville is a clear statement from a world-class company that the Commonwealth is not just the leader in R&D, but also in bio-manufacturing. I will continue to work closely with Thermo Fisher as they create jobs and help cure disease.”
The new Plainville facility is part of an investment strategy to provide customers with fully integrated capabilities that connect the entire cell and gene therapy value chain — from early development and clinical scale-up to commercial manufacturing. These include translational sciences labs for early-stage development; plasmid DNA manufacturing; viral vector services; cell therapy manufacturing; and, integrated commercial packaging and distribution services. With over 20 years of experience in cGMP viral vector manufacturing, the company has produced more than 130 viral vector products used to develop treatments for cancer, blood disorders and other genetic diseases.
In addition, the new Patheon Quick to Clinic viral vector is an all-inclusive manufacturing platform utilizing optimized, Investigational New Drug-ready processes for lentivirus and adeno-associated virus manufacturing to allow rapid process development, de-risk regulatory pathway and accelerates timeline from discovery to clinic.
With the addition of the Plainville site, Thermo Fisher now has more than 3,500 employees at more than 15 facilities supporting various businesses in the Commonwealth. Open job positions can be found at jobs.thermofisher.com.