US-based biomanufacturing solutions provider Vitrian has invested $50m in the expansion of AmplifyBio’s Manufacturing Enablement Centre (AMEC) in New Albany, Ohio.
The investment, which can be scaled up to $65m, represents an initial step in its broader commitment to support biomanufacturing in Central Ohio, said Vitrian.
Vitrian co-founder and managing principal Scott Nudelman said: “We are very excited to make our first investment in Ohio and launch a wider partnership with AmplifyBio.
“We have been impressed by the creativity and progressive thinking of the AmplifyBio team and look forward to further collaborations.
“The infrastructure investment from state and local government, favourable workforce development environment, and support of important institutional anchors in the Columbus area aligns well with our investment and partnership thesis.”
AmplifyBio is a contract research organisation (CRO) and contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) that develops and manufactures advanced therapies.
Its AMEC facility is located in Central Ohio’s advanced manufacturing corridor, adjacent to Intel’s Ohio One semiconductor facility and Amgen’s biomanufacturing plant.
Spanning a 350,000ft2 area, AMEC houses AmplifyBio’s multi-modality process development and quality control labs and GMP manufacturing suites.
AmplifyBio CEO Kelly Ganjei said: “We chose to partner with Vitrian based on the alignment of our strategic goals for our manufacturing site, and we are hopeful this is the first of many things we can do together.
“As we execute our strategy to enable flexible advanced therapy manufacturing and ancillary services, we believe Vitrian will be a great partner.”
Earlier this year, AmplifyBio announced a significant expansion of its capacity for advanced tools, and assays, that enable cell, gene, and mRNA therapy development.
The company extended lab space to add two Leica Bond Rx platforms for advanced staining, whole-slide digital scanning and image analysis, and invested in training staff.
Also, AmplifyBio optimised its IHC/IF, TUNEL, SH/FISH, microRNA and bDNA assays.
