The KUBio “factory in a box” is expanding to accelerate the accessibility of biotherapeutics on a global scale. Additional modular platforms will be introduced in 2020 allowing biopharma manufacturers to quickly scale up vaccines, viral vector-based therapies, and other novel modalities.

To do so, GE Healthcare Life Sciences will work closely with Pharmadule Morimatsu, a company specializing in the design and manufacture of modular facilities. Pharmadule will provide engineering design, construction, installation, and validation services, based on GE Healthcare Life Sciences’ proprietary design.

Olivier Loeillot, General Manager BioProcess at GE Healthcare Life Science, says: “We are combining our decades-long expertise in biomanufacturing with Pharmadule’s proven excellence in modular construction to support the growth of the biopharmaceutical industry. What bio manufacturers need is fast access to reliable technologies, cost-effective investments, and speed to market. KUBio offers all this while continuing to extend and adapt to the dynamics of the market.”

Helen Zhang, CEO of Pharmadule, says: “Joining expertise with GE Healthcare Life Sciences is an important milestone. Through this collaboration, we will leverage our capacity to execute effective projects from conceptual design to a qualified modular facility and support the expansion of the KUBio biomanufacturing facility offering. This fits very well with our modular concept, which includes global turn-key delivery, from early design through fabrication and installation up to operational qualification on site.”

Biopharmaceuticals are the fastest-growing class of medicines, used in the treatment of a wide range of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, certain cancers, and diabetes. The biopharmaceutical market grows at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.8% from 2018 to 2025 and is forecasted to reach $526 billion by 2025.

GE Healthcare Life Sciences launched the first off-the-shelf KUBio modular facility in 2012 for the biomanufacturing of monoclonal antibodies. The KUBio portfolio has expanded over the years to support the production of vaccines and viral vectors. GE Healthcare Life Sciences has provided KUBio facilities to JHL, Pfizer, and BeiGene. In collaboration with Pharmadule, GE Healthcare Life Sciences is currently deploying a KUBio facility in Guangzhou, China.