MilliporeSigma opened its second Carlsbad, CA-based facility, more than doubling the company’s existing capacity to support large-scale commercial and industrial manufacturing for viral gene therapy.

The new $110 million, 140,000-sq.-ft. facility is the company’s second in Carlsbad to serve cell and gene therapy customers and support the rapid adoption of viral vector-based therapies. Between the two facilities, there are 30 cleanroom suites to support manufacturing from small- to large-scale clinical and commercial production. The new facility leverages cutting-edge suspension technology to enable scalable and cost-effective manufacturing.
 
“Today, most gene therapies target rare diseases, but there is an urgent need to efficiently manufacture these treatments to reach larger patient populations,” said Matthias Heinzel, Member of the Executive Board and CEO, Life Science, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. “As a leader in viral vector manufacturing, this increase in capacity and scale is the next step in enabling our customers to bring new curative treatments to market.”
 
“We are continuing to invest in solving cell and gene therapy challenges in development and manufacturing, working alongside drug developers to industrialize, scale and accelerate the path to deliver therapies to patients,” Heinzel added.
 
The expansion of the Carlsbad facility is part of the company’s plan to accelerate growth through investments in the “Big 3”, including the Process Solutions business unit within the Life Science business sector as a key driver.