Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies Reserves Capacity for COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator

CDMO Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies announced in an April 30, 2020 press release that it will reserve manufacturing capacity for a future COVID-19 therapy for the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator. The Therapeutics Accelerator is an initiative launched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard in response to the global pandemic. The Therapeutics Accelerator is working to accelerate drug development and will identify a promising COVID-19 therapeutic candidate based on efficacy and safety data demonstrated in clinical trials.

Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies will reserve production volumes for 2021 at its large-scale biologics production facility in Hillerød, Denmark. The company will work with a selected pharmaceutical partner in supporting manufacture and dedicated supply for patients with COVID-19 in lower-income countries. 

The company’s Hillerød cGMP facility is equipped with six, 20,000-L bioreactors for the manufacture of cell-culture derived biologics for clinical and commercial use. The agreement also anticipates that the company will support drug product and assembly, label, and packaging requirements.