FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies announced 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 & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard to speed-up the response to the global pandemic.
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.
With the ultimate goal of providing access to effective treatment options, this agreement will allocate manufacturing capacity in FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ large scale biologics production facility in Hillerød, Denmark. The company will work with a selected pharmaceutical partner in supporting the swift manufacture and dedicated supply for patients with COVID-19 in lower-income countries. Under the agreement, production volumes are secured for 2021 with options for a number of years thereafter.
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ Hillerød cGMP facility is equipped with 6 x 20,000L bioreactors for the manufacture of cell culture derived biologics for clinical and commercial use. The agreement also anticipates that FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies will support drug product and assembly, label and packaging requirements.