WALTHAM, Mass., July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, Thermo Fisher Scientific will highlight its investments and innovations over the past 12 months across its global pharma services network, which have been focused on areas of accelerated demand including cell and gene therapy, drug product development, biologics manufacturing and clinical supply chain services. These highlights will be showcased this week at Virtual DCAT Week. 

"This year more than ever, we are reminded of the important role we play in helping our customers to make the world healthier," said Leon Wyszkowski, president of commercial operations, pharma services, Thermo Fisher Scientific. "We continue to invest strategically in our global pharma services network from development to commercial capabilities. This enables our customers to deliver innovative medicines, vaccines and therapies that make a difference in the lives of the patients they serve."

Accelerating Demand for Cell & Gene Therapy  
Thermo Fisher's continued investment in cell and gene therapy services is focused on delivering manufacturing expertise and capacity to support customers at key points along the pathway to commercialization. Thermo Fisher will open its new cGMP plasmid DNA manufacturing facility this week in Carlsbad, Calif., which will enable the production of commercial plasmid DNA used as a raw material or as a primary drug substance for gene-based therapies.

In viral vector services, Thermo Fisher expanded its manufacturing footprint in both the US and Europe. In Plainville, Mass., Thermo Fisher broke ground on its new 290,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, which will be the largest viral vector manufacturing facility in North America. Following the acquisition of Henogen, the company added more than 75,000 square feet of clinical and commercial manufacturing capacity with two locations in Seneffe and Gosselies, Belgium. 

To advance cell therapy development and commercialization, Thermo Fisher announced a collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) on a 44,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art cell therapy development, manufacturing and collaboration center on UCSF's Mission Bay campus. 

Broadening Industry-Leading Drug Product Development and Steriles Capacity 
To support the accelerated demand for global steriles manufacturing for mRNA vaccines and other advanced therapies, the company expanded its global steriles manufacturing commercial footprint  with 12 new sterile commercial and three development lines across four sites in the U.S. and Europe, which will be operational in 2021 and 2022.

Increasing Capabilities in Biologics Development and Manufacturing 
Through a strategic partnership with CSL, Thermo Fisher will operate a new 600,000-square-foot biologics manufacturing facility in Lengnau, Switzerland once mechanical completion is complete later this year. In addition, Thermo Fisher completed a $50 million expansion at its St. Louis, Mo. site to double its manufacturing capabilities, including the opening of its Bioprocessing Collaboration Center to drive innovation in bioprocessing technologies and workflows.

To accelerate preclinical development for biologic drug developers, Thermo Fisher recently introduced its enhanced Quick to Clinic solution, designed to help biopharma companies reach Phase I/First-In-Human trials and file for Investigational New Drug (IND) review in as little as 13 months from transfection.

Growing Clinical Supply Chain Services
In clinical supply chain services, the company completed construction on two new state-of-the-art facilities in Germany. In Rheinfelden, a state-of-the-art site offers secondary packaging, storage, logistics and distribution of clinical supplies to investor sites across Europe. A new cryocenter in Weil am Rhein offers vaccine and cell and gene therapy innovators specialized ultra-low temperature, cryogenic storage and cold chain services to meet accelerating clinical demand in the region.

Expanding into Asia-Pacific
Thermo Fisher expanded its global network into Asia-Pacific. In partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board, the company has begun construction on a new $130 million sterile manufacturing facility in Singapore, which will include support for live virus manufacturing. Through a joint venture with Innoforce, the company will operate a  new, integrated biologics and sterile drug development and manufacturing site in Hangzhou, China to help bring novel therapies to market regionally and internationally.

DCAT Sessions 
This week at DCAT, join a series of special webinars throughout the week of July 12:

• Pharma Industry Outlook: Monday, July 12, 2021, 10 a.m. EDT
• Executive Insights: How COVID-19 is Transforming the Future of Drug Development: Wednesday, July 14, 2021, 10 a.m. EDT

About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue exceeding $30 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and therapies or increasing productivity in their laboratories, we are here to support them. Our global team of more than 80,000 colleagues delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services and Patheon. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific