Lithuania Set to Become Home to Largest Biotech City

Northway Group—a group of 17 enterprises within the fields of medicine, healthcare, biotechnical formation, and investment operations—has announced its latest project, in a Nov. 16, 2023 press release, that will see a vast biotech city be built in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The biotechnology hub, BIO CITY, will be the largest in Europe and home to an impressive six large biotechnological complexes—four of which will be state-of-the-art good manufacturing practice (GMP) plants and two of which will be scientific research centers. The whole site will be in an area equivalent to the size of 10 football fields and is expected to cost a total of €7 billion ($7.6 billion) over the course of a decade.

“We envision BIO CITY as a frontrunner in the European biotechnology, by uniquely integrating various biotech segments into a single, synergistic ecosystem,” said Prof. Vladas Algirdas Bumelis, founder and CEO of Northway Biotech and Celltechna, in the press release. “This multifunctional complex will catalyse interdisciplinary collaborations, the quick realisation of ideas and technological advancements. Our unique model, which brings together diverse biotechnology fields in one location, is set to revolutionise the European biotech landscape.”

A gene therapy center will be the first facility to open in the BIO CITY in 2024. Currently under construction by Northway Group’s subsidiary, Celltechna, the center will specialize in gene therapy research and GMP manufacturing and will span 8000 m2. Additionally, the center is expected to create more than 100 high-value jobs for the region.

“Our state-of-the-art [gene therapy] facility will be instrumental in both research and production, offering new treatments for previously incurable diseases. This will not only augment our CDMO [Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation] capabilities, but also position us for global competition and collaborations,” added Bumelis.

“A science-based economy, supported by bright minds and intelligent entrepreneurs, is the foundation for Lithuania’s long-term economic prosperity. In the past, our growth was constrained by a lack of fossil resources, but today, we are boldly moving forward, relying on modern technologies,” said the president of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, in the press release. “The new biotechnology hub embodies the direction of Lithuania’s innovative economy. It also promises new inventions that will enable people with serious illnesses to become full members of society, thereby reducing exclusion.”

Source: Northway Biotech