AGC Biologics Secures Multi-Year Yokohama Manufacturing Contract
KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- AGC Biologics announced that ahead of the official opening of its Yokohama site, an international biopharmaceutical company has secured half of the facility’s mammalian manufacturing capacity through a multi-year commercial contract expected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) will leverage its new Yokohama facility to manufacture a minimum of 35 batches annually for five biopharmaceutical products for the undisclosed customer, supporting a reliable global supply chain for patients worldwide.
“This agreement reflects the strength of our network, our single-use expertise, and the strategic role Japan can play in resilient biologics supply chains.
“Our newest Japan site in Yokohama synthesises all our network learning in a location of increasing interest, and that carries the intrinsic cultural value of manufacturing quality and effective delivery,” said AGC Biologics President and Chief Executive Officer, Alberto Santagostino.
According to AGC Biologics in a statement, the agreement includes process transfer, scale-up, regulatory validation, and future commercial production.
The customer is expected to pursue multiple regulatory approvals, while the manufacturing timeline includes four process performance qualification (PPQ) campaigns during the first two years.
Once operational in 2027, the Yokohama site will deploy four 2,000-litre Cytiva single-use bioreactors and two 5,000-litre Thermo Fisher Scientific DynaDrive single-use bioreactors, adding 18,000 litres of single-use biologics manufacturing capacity to AGC Biologics’ existing network.
The Yokohama site forms part of the biomanufacturing investments made by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2022 to expand domestic production and reinforce Japan’s position as a trusted long-term biologics manufacturing partner for life sciences industries in allied nations.
-- BERNAMA