After a string of US projects, Thermo Fisher opens the doors to a new facility in China

Thermo Fisher recently opened a new facility in Hangzhou, China to boost biologic and sterile medicine development and add manufacturing capacity in the Asia-Pacific region.

The 80,000-square-foot facility will offer clinical and commercial drug substance and product manufacturing, including capabilities for producing cell lines, biologics and drug substances, and fill-finish abilities. The facility contains a 2,000-liter bioreactor, but in the future, it will eventually have a 5,000-liter bioreactor and a packaging area as well.

Paul Jorjorian

In an email to Endpoints News, Paul Jorjorian, the VP and general manager of biologics and pharma services at Thermo Fisher Scientific, said that around 200 jobs will be created with the opening of the Hangzhou site. However, the cost of the facility was not disclosed to Endpoints.

Jorjorian added that the new site is a “strategic addition” to Thermo Fisher’s global network and can address the needs of organizations in China and commit to biologic and sterile medicine development and manufacturing for the Asia-Pacific region.

“This level of collaboration across the enterprise is what enables us to accelerate our customers’ innovation and productivity. The Hangzhou site offers end-to-end capabilities from development to commercialization, providing a one-stop solution to biopharmaceutical customers of all sizes. By leveraging its broad capabilities and layout, Thermo Fisher will further help local pharmaceutical partners to rapidly realize innovation and reach international markets,” Jorjorian said.

Thermo Fisher is in good company in Hangzhou as the Chinese CDMO Innoforce announced earlier this month that it started manufacturing at the new facility and corporate HQ, which was built to offer process development and manufacturing operations for RNA, plasmid DNA, viral vectors and other cell therapeutics.

The Hangzhou opening also comes as Thermo Fisher has been steadily growing its presence in the US. This year, the manufacturer has opened a $160 million, 85,000-square-foot facility in Chelmsford, MA, 30 miles north of its headquarters in Waltham. Also in Massachusetts, the company opened a $180 million, 300,000-square-foot site in Plainview, MA.

It has also opened manufacturing sites in Nashville, Ogden, UT, and outside of Buffalo, NY, this year.

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