Cell Therapy Catapult appoints main contractor for manufacturing centre

The Cell Therapy Catapult has appointed M+W Group to construct its £55m large-scale GMP manufacturing centre in Stevenage. M+W Group, whose UK headquarters are in Chippenham, Wiltshire, was appointed following a comprehensive Official Journal of the European Union compliant tendering process. The manufacturing centre is scheduled to open in 2017 and will be managed by the Cell Therapy Catapult. It will be used to manufacture products for late phase clinical trials and commercial supply of advanced therapeutic medicinal products, including cell and gene therapies.

The facility is expected to create up to 150 jobs and its position on the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst campus will support SME biotech and life sciences companies based in the UK, complement the country’s existing capability and attract additional inward investment from global companies.

'I am delighted that we will be working with M+W Group to create a centre that will advance industry in the UK to become a world leader in cell and gene therapy development and commercialisation,' said Keith Thompson, CEO, the Cell Therapy Catapult. 'The manufacturing centre will provide global scientific and medical communities with the assistance they need to convert research into products that have the potential to have a direct impact in advanced healthcare.'

Spencer Baber, Managing Director M+W Group UK, said: 'M+W Group is a specialist contractor for the construction of state-of-the-art facilities within the life sciences sector. We are proud to be associated with a government funded project of this specific nature which will see the UK established as the leading centre for the development of new and innovative medicinal products for the treatment of debilitating diseases such as blindness, diabetes and cancer.'

In its 2013 survey of the UK’s manufacturing capability, the Cell Therapy Catapult identified manufacturing and supply chain as one of the barriers to the translation of research into commercially viable products. The UK is strongly positioned for early clinical phase manufacturing and the large-scale GMP manufacturing centre will help grow a UK based global industry that will have a direct impact in healthcare.