CHINA —Thermo Fisher has opened a new facility in Hangzhou, China, to accelerate biologic and sterile medicine development and increase manufacturing capacity in the Asia-Pacific region.
The 80,000-square-foot facility will provide clinical and commercial drug substance and product manufacturing, including cell lines, biologics, and drug substances, as well as fill-finish capabilities.
The facility currently houses a 2,000-liter bioreactor, but it will eventually house a 5,000-liter bioreactor as well as a packaging area.
The new site is a “strategic addition” to Thermo Fisher’s global network that can address the needs of Chinese organizations and commit to biologic and sterile medicine development and manufacturing for the Asia-Pacific region.
Thermo Fisher is not alone in Hangzhou, as the Chinese CDMO Innoforce announced earlier this month that it had begun manufacturing at the new facility and corporate headquarters, which was built to offer process development and manufacturing operations for RNA, plasmid DNA, viral vectors, and other cell therapeutics.
The Hangzhou opening coincides with Thermo Fisher’s continued expansion in the United States. This year, the company opened a US$160 million, 85,000-square-foot facility in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, about 30 miles north of its headquarters in Waltham. The company opened a US$180 million, 300,000-square-foot facility in Plainview, Massachusetts.
This year, it has also opened manufacturing facilities in Nashville, Ogden, Utah, and just outside of Buffalo, New York.
For the past 40 years, Thermo Fisher has served the Chinese market through its bioproduction, clinical research, and pharma services businesses.
According to management, the company is expanding its workflow capabilities to support pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in China and globally, based on an “in China, for China” localization strategy.
The facility is a strategic addition to the company’s global pharma services network because it expands its capabilities to support customers’ manufacturing needs, allowing them to serve more patients globally.
With the opening of the Hangzhou facility and Thermo Fisher’s clinical packaging and logistics expertise, the company can now offer a streamlined end-to-end solution from molecule development to the accelerated delivery of critical medicines to patients.
Industry prospects
According to the most recent McKinsey & Co research, China’s healthcare market will grow at a CAGR of nearly 12%, reaching US$2.3 trillion by 2030.
Infrastructure improvements, expanded insurance coverage, and significant support for innovation are the primary drivers of the market.
In other recent developments, Thermo Fisher launched the TrueMark Infectious Disease Research Panels in December 2022, with the goal of allowing for rapid and accurate detection and categorization of microorganisms that cause respiratory, vaginal, urinary, gastrointestinal, and sexually transmitted diseases.
The assays can detect over 90 different disease pathogens by utilizing real-time PCR technology.
In the same month, Thermo Fisher was granted De Novo Classification for its SeCore CDx HLA Sequencing System.
The SeCore CDx HLA Sequencing System is the first HLA typing test to be approved by the FDA for use as a companion diagnostic.
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