Celonic Inaugurates “Next Generation” Biologics Development Center (BDC) and Pilot Plant in Basel, Switzerland

·The Celonic Group, a “Pure Play” Biologics Contract Development Organization (CDMO) expands process development and optimization services in Basel;

·Investment builds on “Next Generation” bioprocessing capability and pilot plant. This will reduce the cost and risks of scaling-up biologic medicine production;

·“Next Generation” capability will help drug companies produce more with less and improve accessibility and affordability for patients;

·New laboratories feature Cytiva’s Xcellerex XDR single-use bioreactor system. 

The Celonic Group, a Swiss Based Quality Biologics Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) today opened its “Next Generation” Biologics Development Center and Pilot Plant in Basel, Switzerland.

This laboratory expansion will help pharmaceutical companies develop and optimize processes using bioprocessing technologies such as Process Intensification and Perfusion. These technologies dramatically cut the cost and risks of scaling up the production of biologic medicines, making them more affordable and accessible to more people in the world.

As a pioneer in perfusion and intensification processes, Celonic’s “Next Generation” biomanufacturing capabilities supports the entire product lifecycle, from the lab bench to market-scale production. The new Biologics Development Center will work seamlessly with Celonic’s GMP manufacturing site in Heidelberg, Germany.

Samanta Cimitan, CEO of the Celonic Group, commented: “The cost and complexity of scaling a biologic drug from the lab bench to market-scale production poses a significant barrier to innovation. Celonic’s Biologics Development Center expansion equipped with state-of-the-art ‘Next Generation’ bioprocessing technologies offers capabilities that significantly increase the amount of active ingredient produced, reducing the cost per gram of finished product. We look forward to helping customers, in particular Biotech and Biosimilar companies of all sizes innovate more quickly and improve access to sophisticated medicines.”

According to Silke Fetzer-Rümpler, Senior Vice President, Commercial, Cytiva: “Cytiva’s Xcellerex XDR Bioreactor single-use system is a robust and flexible system that can scale from process development to manufacturing scale, enabling customers to reach clinical and commercial milestones faster. We are happy that industry pioneer, Celonic has chosen Cytiva as the solutions provider for its new facility.”

Christof Klöpper, CEO Basel Area Business & Innovation, stated: “Celonic’s investment in “Next Generation” Bioprocessing Labs in Basel, strengthens the Position of Switzerland as a leader in Biotech and Innovation. We welcome Celonic’s investment and the creation of extra highly skilled jobs in the Basel Area and the expansion of the Biotechnology ecosystem.”

From Left to right: Christof Klöpper, CEO Basel Area Business & Innovation, Samanta Cimitan, CEO Celonic Group, Samuel Hess, Head of Economic Affairs Canton Basel Stadt

Cytiva’s Xcellerex XDR single-use bioreactor system

For high resolution please click the images.

Link to the press release

About Celonic

Celonic is a “Pure Play” Biologics Contract Development Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) with significant expertise in cell culture technologies, process development and manufacturing of recombinant proteins. Celonic’s roots trace back to 1982 as a spin-off of the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Today Celonic has a state-of-the-art Biologics Development and Innovation Center in Basel, Switzerland (Headquarters), and clinical and commercial GMP manufacturing facilities in Heidelberg, Germany. At present, more than 500 highly qualified employees work at Celonic across the two locations.