Lonza Acquires Regenerative Medicine Company; Lubrizol, Thermo Fisher Expand
A roundup of the latest expansions and acquisition updates from suppliers, contract development and manufacturing organizations and contract manufacturing organizations, featuring news from Lubrizol, Lonza, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing
Lubrizol To Invest $25 Million in Kentucky Facility Expansion
The Lubrizol Corporation plans to invest more than $25 million in its Calvert City, Kentucky manufacturing facility for polymers. This investment follows a recent $10-million expansion at the site to further improve the company’s safety-management standards.
The facility specializes in the production of the company’s proprietary Carbopol polymers and Pemulen polymeric emulsifiers. These polymers are used in pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and personal care and home care products.
Source: Lubrizol
General
Lonza Acquires Regenerative Medicine Company Octane Biotech
Lonza has acquired a controlling stake in Octane Biotech, an Ontario, Canada-headquartered regenerative medicine company, with the right to acquire full ownership. The increase in equity share will allow Lonza to further develop technology to support demand for scalable autologous manufacturing.
The two companies have been collaborating since 2015 on the development of the Cocoon system, a patient-scale, closed, and automated cell-therapy manufacturing system.
Source: Lonza
Biologics
Thermo Fisher Opens Newly Expanded Facility in Maryland
Thermo Fisher Scientific has opened a new business center and biorepository in Frederick, Maryland. The Frederick campus houses a recently expanded East Coast distribution center, a new Cryo-Innovation Center, and the National Cancer Institute Central Repository for Clinical Trials. The site is designed for meeting demand for diagnostic instruments and cell and gene therapies that support patients participating in clinical trials.
Newly expanded by more than 190,000 square feet, the center will serve as the North American hub for Thermo Fisher’s life-sciences business. It is the largest building on the Frederick campus with more than 80 employees. The expansion includes another 22,000 square feet to accommodate future growth and advancements in automation, bringing Thermo Fisher’s total investment in the facility to nearly $10 million.
The expansion also adds a 77,000-square-foot facility to house a dedicated Cryo-Innovation Center and National Cancer Institute Repository for Clinical Trials. Another 15,000 square feet have been reserved for future expansion.
The Cryo-Innovation Center will be a future third-party logistics site to support clinical trial and commercial cell and gene therapy, employing 20 people and representing an investment of $5 million. The site will consolidate several smaller facilities, making it a center of excellence for clinical and academic research sample storage.
The facility supporting the National Cancer Institute will serve as a central biorepository to support oncology clinical trials. This represents a $2-million investment and employs more than 15 people.
Source: Thermo Fisher Scientific