Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies U.S.A. Inc. (FDBU), a Fujifilm Corporation subsidiary, has completed its acquisition of a stake in Kalon Biotherapeutics LLC, a biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing organization based in College Station, Texas and with expertise in vaccine manufacturing. FDBU acquired 49% of the total membership interests in Kalon and will be entitled to appoint a majority of Kalon's board members. Hereafter, FDBU may increase its interest share up to 100% based on achievement of certain milestones, and the organization will now be called Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies Texas, LLC.

In addition to Fujifilm, Kalon is owned by State of Texas, acting by and through the Office of the Governor, and The Texas A&M University System (TAMUS). Kalon was founded in 2011 by TAMUS. It is a subcontractor to one of the three Centers For Innovation In Advanced Development and Manufacturing awarded by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to develop and manufacture medical countermeasures to protect public health in emergencies, including incidents of bioterrorism or an outbreak of pandemic influenza. Kalon's focus is in manufacturing vaccines using mammalian cell cultures. It has the capacity to use up to 20 mobile cleanrooms (MCRs), which can be installed at the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing facility. The MCRs enable concurrent manufacturing of several types of vaccines. Moreover, the ability to easily expand the number of MCRs allows for prompt response to increasing capacity demands. These MCRs are suitable not only for cell-cultured vaccines, but also for all kinds of biopharmaceuticals, including antibodies. Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies will support current Kalon operations at the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing and a pandemic vaccine manufacturing facility currently under construction.

Source: Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies

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