
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies confirms £400 million investment plans to create the largest multi-modal biopharmaceutical manufacturing site in the United Kingdom The expansion is expected to create up to 350 highly-skilled jobs on Teesside.
December 2, 2021
Print
The expansion is expected to create up to 350 highly-skilled jobs on Teesside. BILLINGHAM, UK, 2 December 2021 FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, a world leading contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) for biologics, viral vaccines and viral vectors, has confirmed a £400 million planned investment package at its UK facility in Billingham, Teesside. This investment package more than doubles the site's existing development and manufacturing footprint, creating the largest multi-modal biopharmaceutical manufacturing site in the United Kingdom1 and is expected to create up to 350 highly-skilled jobs. The new facilities are expected to be operational by late 2023.
The new multi-modal campus will include two new state-of-the-art facilities (a viral gene therapy GMP2 facility and a GMP mammalian cell culture facility) and is part of a 90 Billion Yen global capital investment package initially outlined by FUJIFILM Corporation in June
2021.
We all know that there has never been a more important time to invest in biopharmaceuticals - and £400 million, the largest investment in British biopharmaceutical manufacturing for decades, signals FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies' intent to be able to offer multi-modal options to respond to our customers' needs with flexibility and agility to help solve public health demands, and deliver the medicines and vaccines of tomorrow, said Martin Meeson, Chief Executive Officer of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies. With a strong growing demand for microbial, cell culture and viral gene therapy services, we are adding the capacity and latest technologies within one campus to offer a range of modalities to build an offering that will deliver novel promising treatments to patients for years to come.
I am delighted that Fujifilm has identified the massive potential in the UK for growth and innovation. At £400m, this is a significant investment in British biopharmaceutical manufacturing and will power our response to some of today's most urgent global health challenges and deliver life-changing medicines and vaccines to patients in need said UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. It will enable the expansion of the Billingham campus and create 350 new jobs - attracting the best innovators and researchers and bolstering our Life Sciences industry as we build back better from the pandemic.
It's our vision for the FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies' site in Billingham to be the beating heart of the rapidly expanding North East Life Sciences ecosystem, and this investment will create up to 350 highly-skilled jobs and additional benefits across the local and national supply chain, added Paul Found, Chief Operating Officer, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies UK.
The investment will add a new cell culture facility in the expanded Billingham campus and triple existing cell culture capacity capabilities at the site with the addition of 4x2,000L and 2x500L single use bioreactor production capabilities for the manufacture of both monoclonal and novel antibody treatments. This expansion will also include the addition of the company's MaruX GMP continuous manufacturing platform to provide customers with a differentiated connected and integrated production platform offering.
In addition to the cell culture facility, the new investment package will expand the viral vector and gene therapy services offered by FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies from the UK with dedicated process development capabilities and a commercial-scale viral gene therapy GMP facility, both located on the Billingham campus. This expansion will deliver a ten-fold increase in gene therapy production capabilities by FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies in the UK, cementing its leadership in the viral vector market; and complementing its existing global footprint including sites in College Station, Texas and Watertown, Massachusetts, both in the USA. The investment will also facilitate the expansion of existing capabilities in vaccine manufacturing, along with new capabilities including mRNA production.
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies previously announced plans to expands its viral vector and gene therapy offerings in Darlington, UK, with process development laboratories and manufacturing capabilities to support the production of investigational use of gene therapies in early-stage clinical trials (first-in-human). The process development laboratories have already begun operations, with GMP manufacturing services starting in spring 2022.
Further to this, an expansion of the existing 5,000L GMP microbial production facilities will also take place at the Billingham campus. This expansion will increase microbial fermentation capacity by almost two-thirds. The expansion will include over 20,000 sq. ft of modular downstream clean room space, including two primary recovery and refolding suites, two purification suites and a column packing room. It is designed to implement FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies' SymphonX 3 technology. The expansion also includes quality control (QC) labs, office space and materials storage. This expansion will be operational by late 2023/early 2024.
1 Based on internal company research as of December 2021.
2 Good manufacturing practice
Media contact:
Andy Ross
Deputy Head of Corporate Communications - Europe
FUJIFILM Europe GmbH
Tel: +44(0)7766497949
Images FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Billingham, Teesside
FDB 1 [JPG]
FDB 2 [JPG]
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Billingham, Teesside [JPG]
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
09/09/2026
Sony Electronics has announced the SEL814G, the company's first fisheye zoom G Lens for full-frame Alpha E-mount cameras. The lens will be available in Octo...
09/09/2026
Telestream has announced an expansion of its Practical AI capabilities across th...
09/09/2026
Haivision and Chyron have announced a technology partnership integrating Haivisi...
09/09/2026
Omaha Productions has released ManningCast: Heist, a short film featuring Peyton and Eli Manning attempting to break into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's o...
09/09/2026
Imagine Communications will demonstrate the next evolution of XVR at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14).
XVR is Imagine's channel-in-a-b...
09/09/2026
swXtch.io has announced abbe, an AI-based orchestration layer for live media workflows, making its world premiere at IBC2026 (Meeting Room 5.MR13, Hall 5, Septe...
09/09/2026
NFL Films has announced the second season of Inside the NFL on X as an X Original, premiering Wednesday, September 9. The series marks Inside the NFL's 50th...
09/09/2026
LiveU has announced an expanded partnership with The Associated Press, deploying the largest fleet of LU900Q intelligent production units in the industry as par...
09/09/2026
Diversified has announced plans to consolidate its four existing New Jersey locations into a new facility in Newark, expected to be fully operational by the end...
09/09/2026
Wisycom will exhibit new RF products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.D60, September 11-14), including the MATF Wideband Antenna Matrix, PFL Portable RF over Fiber Box, and ...
09/09/2026
Guntermann & Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both Panoptec companies, will introduce vsNEO at IBC2026 (Stand 8.B63, September 11, RAI Amsterdam). Pre-orders open in ea...
09/09/2026
Mo-Sys has completed a business restructuring and relocated to a new facility in Canada Water, London. As part of the reorganization, Selin Kemal has been promo...
09/09/2026
Aicox has integrated TAG Video Systems' Core monitoring platform into Telef nica's TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure....
09/09/2026
Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21.1, a free update available now through the Blackmagic Design website. The release adds new AI tools, workflow ...
09/09/2026
ESPN and Apple Music have announced a collaboration on music curation for Monday...
09/09/2026
Sacramento Production Services has completed a wireless audio overhaul at Sutter Health Park, home of the Athletics during their three-year residency in Sacrame...
09/09/2026
NDI and NVIDIA have announced a collaboration to develop AI-powered workflows enabling broadcasters to create and distribute multilingual content from a single ...
09/09/2026
Christopher Chip Adams, Troy Aikman, Jim Dove, Jim Eady, Bucky Gunts, Robert A. Iger, Charlie Jablonski, Robert Kraft, Tom Rinaldi, and Dick Stockton to be ho...
09/09/2026
ND2 returns as the primary unit, While FNIA gets SSQC and new flexible Rover...
09/09/2026
New parts aimed at hip-hop and pop productions
The latest update to Celemony's innovative virtual session musician expands the collection of built-in in...
09/09/2026
Save up to 40% until 21 September 2026
Sonarworks are currently running their Autumn Sale, with discounts of up to 40% currently available across their rang...
09/09/2026
Upcoming title officially launches in September 2026
Bjooks' celebrations for this year's 909 Day will be welcome news amongst drum machine lovers, ...
09/09/2026
NITV to bring First Nations netball to audiences nationwide
9 September, 2026
Media releases
Every match of the 2026 First Nations Tournament will be live ...
09/09/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites eligible Tier 1 and 2 South African production companies to submit proposals to serve as the Facilitating ...
09/09/2026
Italy launch follows UK and Germany as Nielsen expands product across EMEA
Milan, Italy, September 9, 2026 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, ...
09/09/2026
Planned solutions tackle accuracy, cost and latency barriers to deploying AI at ...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, introduces its new Model 791 Control Console at IBC 2026 (N...
09/09/2026
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects and visualization, is headin...
09/09/2026
NUGEN Audio unveils DialogCheck v1.2, the latest evolution of its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at IBC 2026 (Pod P27). With a sharpene...
09/09/2026
Trusted Partner Network Launches Fix It or Risk It to Help the Entertainment Industry Tackle Everyday Security Risks
Industry-Wide Campaign Launches at IBC2...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
AI has moved firmly beyond experimentation in UK advertising, with more than eight in ten marketers (83%) now actively using or piloting AI in production, accor...
09/09/2026
IBC2026 - Stand 7.D22
At IBC2026, Pixitmedia by DataCore will showcase its latest capabilities designed to simplify distributed production, accelerate workflow...
09/09/2026
Stockholm, Sweden September 9th, 2026 At IBC2026, on booth 1.B47, Net Insight will showcase Open Live Media, its architecture for delivering resilient live ...
09/09/2026
Net Insight today announced that DMC Production Norway is continuing the use of its Open Live Media technology for premium European football, deploying Nimbra 5...
09/09/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, will showcase four new AI-native capabilities at IBC2026, Hall 5, S...
09/09/2026
Limecraft today announces version 2026.6 of its AI-powered production platform, extending capabilities for connected media operations. An AI-assisted approach t...
09/09/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the next evolution of its Practical AI strategy, evolving its comprehensive portfoli...
09/09/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Brian Doheny as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
09/09/2026
LiveU is now a Clarus Integrated Reseller, bringing Starlink's fast, reliable broadband directly into LiveU's cellular bonding EcoSystem through a singl...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Wisycom is showcasing the latest additions to its ecosystem of professional RF technologies at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.D60). This includes its new MATF Wideband Anten...
09/09/2026
AMSTERDAM, IBC2026 VisualOn, Inc. and Cires21 today released an updated joint whitepaper at IBC 2026 demonstrating measurable, high-impact improvements in visu...