Global life sciences company Cytiva is opening an 11 000 sqm manufacturing facility in Cardiff, Wales. Part of a two year £1.1bn, ($1.5bn) global expansion plan, the site manufactures mixer bags, flow kits and tubing assemblies. These technologies are used in the development and production of biopharmaceuticals such as COVID-19 vaccines. Hiring is ongoing for the 250 jobs needed to staff the facility.
Mary Blenn, VP Global Supply Chain at Cytiva, said: “Since 2020, we have invested and significantly increased global capacity to address our customers’ growing needs. We continue to expand with new manufacturing sites, such as that in Cardiff. This facility also gives us an enhanced presence in the UK, allowing us to provide more regional options to our customers there.”
While the UK leads Europe with discovery research and start-up funding, a lack of domestic manufacturing has meant scaling up often happens offshore. Building regional manufacturing, Cytiva says, can help address the current needs of the industry while establishing capabilities to support long-term growth.
Energy meters are installed throughout the site to optimise electricity use and reduce overall consumption. The team is also investigating the use of dynamic cleanroom controls to reduce power use. The site’s neighbouring offices will run ‘very close’ to carbon neutral, the company says.
The site’s first cleanroom (of a planned six by the end of 2022) has been installed and validated by Connect 2 Cleanrooms, a global cleanroom design and build specialist.
Joe Govier, CEO of Connect 2 Cleanrooms, said: “Drawing on our 20 years’ experience, our team is proud to work with Cytiva to design, build and validate the cleanrooms in Cardiff. The drive for this project was qualification and scale. This work ultimately advances and accelerates biotherapeutics and it’s been a pleasure to work with Cytiva on this high-profile project.”
When complete, the site will increase the company’s global manufacturing capacity for single-use products by 20%.