SAFC Pharma Adds Commercial-Scale Capacity at Contract Manufacturing Plant in Carlsbad

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Construction has been completed on a $15 million expansion of SAFC Pharma's contract manufacturing plant in Carlsbad, California. The project added 8,000 square feet of manufacturing space to the existing 44,000-square-foot site. SAFC Pharma is a business segment of SAFC, a member of the Sigma-Aldrich Group (NASDAQ:SIAL) (St. Louis, Missouri).

The Carlsbad facility specializes in the process development and manufacturing of viral vaccines and viral therapeutics, including a full menu of support services, from preclinical process and analytical development to final fill/finish and commercial bulk drug supplies. SAFC acquired the site in 2007 from Molecular Medicine Bioservices, Incorporated.

The investment, which utilized disposable bioreactor technologies, allows the plant to take its biologics, viral vaccines and gene therapy manufacturing to commercial-scale quantities. SAFC's plant is designed for multi-lot campaigns, and the new area includes dedicated cell expansion, bioreactor production, purification and cleanroom suites. Other features of the project, according to Industrial Info's Pharmaceutical-Biotech Tracker - Online Database, include 100-liter batch production in stirred tank bioreactors; 1,000-liter batch manufacturing in disposable bioreactors; and two segregated Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) manufacturing suites, which will allow for the manipulation of human pathogens. Designed from the outset as a containment facility, the expansion space allows clients to secure a dedicated suite of cleanrooms for larger scale manufacturing. Members of the project team included FPBA Architects (San Diego, California) and DDC Construction (San Diego).

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