news we already had an inkling about, however it's nice to see related news reported and reinforce that DCVax is not a mirage, not that the NYAS and upcoming SNO isn't enough to validate the reality
Growth in cell therapy clinical programs means Charles River boosts offerings in Memphis
by Tyler Patchen
While Charles River Laboratories has had its attention on the UK and Ireland over the past year, the company is looking to make its next expansion into the Bluff City of Memphis, TN.
According to the outsourcing company, it is planning to boost its cell therapy manufacturing capabilities at the Memphis site, adding nine processing suites and bringing the total number of suites to 23. The expansion plans to add the manufacture of both clinical and commercial autologous and allogeneic cell and gene-modified cell therapy products.
While the company did not disclose the price tag of the expansion, it did explain why the Memphis facility is being expanded:
More cell therapy clinical programs are progressing to late stage and commercial. As a result, Charles River is experiencing strong growth in the interest of our cell therapy CD¬MO services, especially from clients with high volume, late-stage, and commercial needs. All signs point to-wards this rapid growth continuing in the coming years. With several of our current client programs moving towards commercialization, it was an easy decision to expand our capacity with these commercial-ready suites.
The expansion will eventually lead to more hires at the site, but Charles River remained mum on the details. The facility al¬ready has around 300 employees.
An expansion at the Memphis facility has been in the cards for Charles River since it acquired Cognate BioServices, a cell and gene therapy specialist with operations in the US and Europe, for $875 million. Right before the acquisition last year, Cognate had previously unveiled an expansion in Memphis as a part of a move that would double its total manufacturing capacity across two continents.
