PA: Pharma Biz Constructing 45,000 Sq.-Ft. Cell Therapy Mfg. Facility

WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc., a pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device R&D services company with operations in China and the United States, has broken ground on a new facility in Philadelphia for the manufacture of cell therapies. The facility is expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2015. 
The new facility will consist of 45,000 ft² of clinical and commercial manufacturing space and will supplement WuXi's existing 16,000 ft² cGMP cell therapy manufacturing facility. This expansion will provide single-source contract development and cGMP manufacture capabilities for allogeneic and autologous cell-based therapeutics. The new facility will be built using advanced modular design, with flexible cleanroom technology, disposable equipment, and microcarrier cell culture systems. 

Located in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the facility will complement WuXi's existing facility and capabilities which include analytical chemistry, cell banking, cell characterization, molecular biology, and lot release testing.

"Cell therapies offer important treatment options, and WuXi is committed to bringing them to patients faster," says Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of PharmaTech.