CMC Biologics Officially Opens Bothell Manufacturing Facility

Contract manufacturing organization CMC Biologics unveiled its Bothell, WA manufacturing facility by way of a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 1, 2015. The new facility will feature the company’s signature Bioreactor 6Pack configuration, which allows for the agile production of drugs and drug products. The design features six 2000-L single-use bioreactors and a 2000-L seed train that can be set up separately or in tandem.

"This Bioreactor 6Pack adds 12,000 L of capacity," said Stacie Byars, director, global marketing at CMC Biologics, in an email. "We begin construction of another 12,000-L line this year in Copenhagen, and [we] recently brought our Berkeley facility back on line with a capacity of 3400 L per batch (~30000)."

CMC Biologics' goal is to add 30,000 liters of additional capacity, notes Byars. "It’s important to think about total capacity by the number of batches that could be produced when operating at full scale as well, for example, we have a 3000-L line in Seattle producing about 2400 L per batch. If we run at full capacity, it’s about 30 batches a year, or 72,000 liters. The Bioreactor 6Pack line runs about 20 batches per year (240,000 liters)."

In terms of progress on the company's Seattle location, which is expected to complete its first GMP run soon, Byars said that the facility is "100% on track with Portola Pharmaceuticals product in our Bioreactor 6Pack."

Source: CMC Biologics