DSM will not contribute capital, but the firm will help design and run the facility.
DSM Biologics is teaming up with the Queensland State Government and the Commonwealth of Australia to build the first major Australia-based mammalian biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility, which will be located in Brisbane. The over 70,000 sq. ft. facility will offer mammalian process development and cGMP clinical and commercial manufacturing services.
The Australian Government Agencies will provide full financial funding for the facility, which is part of the Queensland 10-year Biotechnology Strategic Plan. DSM will provide no capital but will provide technological expertise to design and set up the facilities and will employ its technologies during its operation.
“This offering will be an important continuation and expansion of the services we currently provide out of our facility in Groningen, The Netherlands,” says Karen King, president of DSM Biologics. “Clients will have the added advantage of being able to choose between standard technology processes or Royal DSM’s proprietary XD® and DSP optimization technologies.
“The services offered at the site will support all mammalian cell lines and process technologies including standard CHO-based systems and the PER.C6® cell-line technology, to which DSM has co-exclusive licensing rights for proteins and mAbs, together with the Dutch biotech company Crucell,” she continues.
The new biologics manufacturing facility is anticipated to be commissioned and operational in 2013. BioPharmaceuticals Australia is responsible for the overall initiative on behalf of the Queensland Government and has selected DSM Biologics to operate the facility.
The biotechnology industry in Australia is rapidly growing with over 400 companies currently engaged in development activities and an estimated A$60 million ($55.47 million) in annual CMO activity fees being exported out of the country due to the lack of a local CMO, according to DSM.