Merck KGaA, a science and technology company, has announced the opening of its second Carlsbad, California-based facility, expanding its global CDMO footprint. The $110m, 140,000 sqft facility will reportedly more than double the company’s capacity to support large-scale commercial and industrial manufacturing for viral gene therapy.
“Today, most gene therapies target rare diseases, but there is an urgent need to efficiently manufacture these treatments to reach larger patient populations,” said Matthias Heinzel, Member of the Merck Executive Board and CEO of Life Science. “As a leader in viral vector manufacturing, this increase in capacity and scale is the next step in enabling our customers to bring new curative treatments to market.”
This is the company’s second Carlsbad, California-based facility to serve cell and gene therapy customers driven by the industry’s rapid adoption of viral vector-based therapies. Between the two facilities, there are 30 cleanroom suites to support manufacturing from small- to large-scale clinical and commercial production. The facility uses suspension technology to enable scalable, cost-effective manufacturing, the company says.
“We are continuing to invest in solving cell and gene therapy challenges in development and manufacturing, working alongside drug developers to industrialise, scale and accelerate the path to deliver therapies to patients,” Heinzel added.