The new large-scale cell culture manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina will create 725 jobs in the region

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Fujifilm selects Holly Springs, North Carolina for its new CDMO facility. (Credit: fernando zhiminaicela from Pixabay.)

Fujifilm Corporation has selected Holly Springs, North Carolina site for the construction of its new large-scale cell culture biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) facility in the US.

In January this year, the firm has announced its plans to invest more than JPY200bn ($2bn) to establish the large-scale end cell culture biopharmaceutical CDMO in North America.

Fujifilm said that it has selected Holly Springs, North Carolina as its home for the new facility after a stringent data-driven evaluation process.

According to the company, the Holly Springs site has strong technical talent, local resources and partners with the right competencies, clean energy resources, and sustainability for future growth.

Fujifilm president Kenji Sukeno said: “Holly Springs, North Carolina is a suitable location for us, as it is one of the most active communities in the US in addressing environmental and social issues.

“Fujifilm will contribute to realising a sustainable society by collaborating with the Holly Springs community and stimulating the local economy, and further, by accelerating ‘resolving social issues through business activities’ in alignment with our Sustainable Value Plan 2030.

“The new site is strategically important to accelerate the growth of our Bio CDMO business.”

Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies (FDB), a subsidiary of Fujifilm, will operate the new facility, which has an existing facility in Morrisville, North Carolina.

The new facility is designed to provide large-scale cell culture manufacturing of bulk drug substance production with 8 x 20,000L bioreactors.

The production capacity can be expanded by adding a further 24 x 20,000L bioreactors based on market demand.

Also, the facility is anticipated to provide commercial scale, automated fill-finish and assembly, packaging, and labelling services.

FDB said that the new facility has been designed to use 100% clean energy, and implement advanced waste disposal and recycling processes, in addition to other sustainability measures.

The new biopharmaceutical facility is planned to be operational by spring 2025 and is expected to create 725 highly-skilled jobs in the area by the end of 2028.

FDB CEO Martin Meeson said: “We are passionate about the tremendous value that this new facility will bring to our partners in producing life-impacting therapies.

“To build what will be the largest end-to-end cell culture CDMO facility in North America requires commitment and partnership.

“We are delighted to have received the strong support from the town of Holly Springs and the state of North Carolina. This is building for the future, both in infrastructure and in talent, as part of the vibrant North Carolina biotech hub.”