Fujifilm to Invest USD 1.6 billion to enhance and expand its global offering of cell culture manufacturing services

TOKYO, June 30, 2022 - FUJIFILM Corporation (President and CEO, Representative Director: Teiichi Goto) today announced the investment of USD 1.6 billion to enhance and expand the cell culture manufacturing services of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, a subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, and world-leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). This investment will enhance FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ sites in Hillerød, Denmark, and Texas in the United States.

As part of this investment, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is further expanding its capacity to support large-scale cGMP fed batch production by adding 8 x 20,000L bioreactors and two downstream processing streams in its Hillerød, Denmark facility. The additional production capacity will make the Hillerød facility the largest end-to-end CDMO in Europe, offering a total of 20 x 20,000L bioreactors for drug substance production complimented by comprehensive drug product and finished goods services. The investment is expected to create approximately 450 jobs.

The Denmark facility will be enhanced with sustainability measures to support Fujifilm’s new “Green Value Climate Strategy” with climate action targets including operating on carbon-free energy^*1 and achieving net zero CO₂ emissions by the end of Fiscal Year 2040. Sustainable production enhancements will include installation of an electric boiler rather than a conventional boiler powered by natural gas thereby removing operational dependency of the site on fossil fuels. In addition, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is investing in programs that aim to reduce water consumption.

This investment will also expand cell culture manufacturing solutions at the FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ Texas site. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies will implement its proprietary SymphonX™ production equipment, enabling cGMP MaruX™ continuous processing at the single-use cell culture manufacturing site.

“Fujifilm is further expanding its bio CDMO business with the growth strategy of both capital investment and technological innovation to fulfill rapidly growing demand for high volume production of biopharmaceuticals,” said Teiichi Goto, president and chief executive officer, representative director, FUJIFILM Corporation. “With this major investment in the large-scale production facility and the deployment of the next generation production technology, we will be the best partner for customers as the premier bio CDMO. Fujifilm will, through creation of new value from innovation, contribute to the stable supply of high-quality biopharmaceuticals, and to promoting a healthy society and further growth of healthcare industry.” 

“FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies will globally accelerate the deployment of the fully integrated continuous cGMP production capability to enable efficient manufacture of antibodies at a high volume,” said Martin Meeson, chief executive officer, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies. “FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies offers a comprehensive portfolio of cell culture development and manufacturing services to support its partners in navigating the clinical journey through to commercial launch and reliable supply of antibodies to help our customers deliver medicines to patients.”

• *1 Direct emission from the company at the manufacturing stage of the product (Scope 1) and indirect emission due to the use of electricity / steam supplied from other companies (Scope 2).

MaruX™ offers the latest advancements in upstream and downstream continuous biomanufacturing have been combined to form an integrated end-to-end process – that allows for a more efficient production of antibody with consistent quality.

SymphonX™ is a fully automated and highly customizable technology platform for end-to-end downstream purification developed by FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ in-house through our Process Development and Manufacturing Innovation program. The system provides the connectivity, integration and advanced automation needed to finally realize the high-productivity promise of continuous processing.

FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, a subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, is a world-leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with experience in the development and manufacture of biologics, vaccines and advanced therapies. The company operates a global network with major locations in the Unites States of America, the United Kingdom and Denmark and it is building a new manufacturing site in Holly Springs, North Carolina, USA. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies has over thirty years of experience in the development and manufacturing of recombinant proteins, vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, among other large molecules, viral products and medical countermeasures expressed in a wide array of microbial, mammalian, and host/virus systems. The company offers a comprehensive list of services from cell line development using its proprietary pAVEway™ microbial and Apollo™X cell line systems to process development, analytical development, clinical and FDA-approved commercial manufacturing. Mitsubishi Corporation is a 20% shareholder of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ UK, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Watertown, Massachusetts and College Station, Texas sites. For more information, go to: www.fujifilmdiosynth.com.

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, leverages its depth of knowledge and proprietary core technologies to deliver Value from Innovation in our products and services in the business segments of healthcare, materials, business innovation, and imaging. Our relentless pursuit of innovation is focused on providing social value and enhancing the lives of people worldwide. Fujifilm is committed to responsible environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information about Fujifilm’s Sustainable Value Plan 2030, click here. For the year ended March 31, 2022, the company had global revenues of approximately 2.5 trillion yen (21 billion $USD at an exchange rate of 122 yen/dollar). For more information, please visit: www.fujifilmholdings.com.

• * Please note that the contents in this website are current as of the date of the press announcement and may be subject to change without prior notice. Information in each release, including the product availability, specification, prices, contacts, are those at the time of publication.