The latest from CDMOs, CMOs, and suppliers featuring Thermo Fisher Scientific, Avantor, BioDuro, Gattefossé, Nanoform, and Pace Life Sciences.

Biologics Manufacturing
* Thermo Fisher Scientific Opens Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center
Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing
* Nanoform Receives Finnish Commercial cGMP Manufacturing License
* Gattefossé Expands Technical Center of Excellence in China
General
* BioDuro Launches Peptide Business Unit
* Avantor Opens Centralized Services Center
Appointments
* Avantor Names Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
* Pace Life Sciences Names New Director of R&D

Biologics Manufacturing

Thermo Fisher Scientific Opens Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center
Thermo Fisher Scientific has opened an Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center (ATxCC) in Philadelphia to support development of cell and gene therapies. This marks the company’s second ATxCC in the United States following the opening of its Carlsbad, California, site. The center is located within BioLabs for Advanced Therapeutics Philadelphia, a newly expanded 53,000-square-foot biotech incubator in Philadelphia.

Source: Thermo Fisher Scientific

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Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing

Nanoform Receives Finnish Commercial cGMP Manufacturing License
Nanoform, a Helsinksi, Finland-based CDMO of manoparticle engineering technologies and formulation development and manufacturing services, has received a commercial cGMP manufacturing license from FIMEA (Finnish Medicines Agency) for the production and quality control of nanoformed small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The license authorizes Nanoform to manufacture nanoformed APIs for the European market and for countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Asia and Americas where mutual recognition applies to the European license. Nanoform was also granted a cGMP clinical license for its second GMP manufacturing suite for the production of nanoformed APIs for clinical trials purposes.

Source: Nanoform

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Gattefossé Expands Technical Center of Excellence in China
Gattefossé, a producer of excipients, specialty ingredients, and formulation services for the pharmaceutical and personal care industries, has expanded itsTechnical Center of Excellence in Shanghai, China. Expanded by over 60%, the facility now brings together advanced personal care and pharmaceutical laboratories, a sensory analysis room, a clinical testing area, and additional analytical instruments. In pharmaceuticals, the laboratory develops lipid-based drug-delivery systems and controlled-release and topical formulations. The center acts as a regional hub for Asia to support customers in China, Japan, Singapore , and Korea.

Source: Gattefossé

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General

BioDuro Launches Peptide Business Unit
BioDuro, an Irvine, California-based CDMO, has announced the launch of a new business unit for peptide drug discovery and development.

The peptide business unit, which is now fully operational, integrates the company’s chemistry, biology, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK), drug-substance, and drug-product capabilities and brings together the company’s cross-functional peptide expertise, dedicated resources, and customized workflows under one area. The business unit will be led by Fengping Xiao, Ph.D.

Source: BioDuro

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Avantor Opens Centralized Services Center
Avantor, a provider of products and services to the life sciences and advanced technologies industries, has opened a Centralized Service Center in Watertown, Massachusetts, to support companies with services such as media and buffer preparation, chemical management, glassware washing, autoclaving, and other ancillary service capabilities.

Source: Avantor

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Appointments

Avantor Names Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Avantor, a provider of products and services to the life sciences and advanced technologies industries, has appointed Mary Blenn, formerly Senior Vice President of Global Operations & Supply Chain at Cytiva, to the newly created role of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately (as announced on November 10, 2025). In this role, she will lead the company’s manufacturing and supply chain operations and report to Avantor’s President and CEO, Emmanuel Ligner.

Blenn has more than three decades of global operations, manufacturing, and supply chain leadership in the life sciences, medical technology, and industrial manufacturing sectors. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President of Global Operations & Supply Chain at Cytiva and has held senior executive leadership roles at General Electric across its healthcare and biopharma divisions.

Source: Avantor

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Pace Life Sciences Names New Director of R&D
Pace Life Sciences, a CDMO and contract provider of regulatory testing and analytical laboratory services, has appointed Andrea F. Gullà, PhD, as Director of Research & Development. In his new role, he will lead the company’s strategic R&D initiatives, advancing the integration of AI, machine learning, automation, and intelligent logistics.

He has more than 20 years of experience leading large teams and multimillion-dollar portfolios at companies, such as Malvern Analytical and Thermo Fisher Scientific, in driving innovation in analytical instruments, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence (AI). With 35+ publications and 30 patents, he provides expertise in product development and strategic leadership.

Source: Pace Life Sciences