Catalent continues cell and gene therapy push with deal for Belgian CDMO – FiercePharma

Catalent's Belgian manufacturing foothold is widening, as the company moves to acquire yet another cell and gene therapy CDMO in the area.

Catalent locked in a deal tobuy 100% of the shares of Delphi Genetics, a plasmid DNA cell and gene therapy CDMO based out of Gosselies, Belgium. The move will help speed the start ofcommercial plasmid manufacturingat Catalent'sfacility in Rockville, Maryland, and add to the CDMO'sfast-growing hubin Gosselies.

As part of the deal, Catalent will get its hands on Delphi's STABY technology, an antibiotic-free selection system used to make plasmids and proteins in E. coli, which it plans totransfer to its Rockville site,Colleen Floreck, VP of global marketing and strategy at Catalent Cell and Gene Therapy, said via email.

Using AI and RWD to Uncover Rare Disease Insights, Accelerate Commercialization and Improve Patient Outcomes

Learn how IPM.ai transformed real world data into real world insights to assist Audentes in their development of AT132 for the treatment of XLMTM. The session reviews how IPM.ia and Audentes collaborated to uncover the XLMTM patient population.

RELATED:Catalent injects $130M into Maryland cell and gene therapy site drafted into COVID-19 vaccine hunt

Since picking up the Rockville facility in 2019, Catalent has brought its plasmid capacity online to the tune of 50 liters and is now tackling R&D production there for early-phase customers, Floreck said. The company is now installing three more manufacturingsuites at the plant, she added.

The facility also boastsprocess and analytical development services, and will eventually be used to take viral vector partners' work from early development through commercialization, Floreck said.

The takeover will also see Delphi's Gosselies home base become the latest addition toCatalent's cell and gene therapy operation in the region, Delphi CEOFranois Blondel said in a release. In fact, Delphi's 17,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and headquarters is located right next to Catalent's existing facilities there.

Catalent made its first foray into Belgium last February, layingout$315 million to acquireMaSTherCellGlobal, a cell and gene therapy CDMO with operations in Gosselies and Houston, Texas.Alongside MaSTherCell's existing25,000-square-foot clinical services facility in Belgium, Catalent snagged a60,000-square-foot commercial-scale and fill-finish facility in progress, which will eventually employ 250 when the project wraps later this year.

RELATED:CDMO Catalent tackles Warp Speed juggling act with new $50M Bloomington line, Acorda plant buyout

Catalent made moves on anotherGosselies site in October, buying a31,000-square-foot cell and gene therapy plant from Bone Therapeutics for $14 million.

The Delphi deal, expected to close "in the next week," will fold the company's current workforce of 38 into Catalent's cell and gene therapy business unit, Floreck said. That team consists ofR&D and genetic engineering scientists and technicians, regulatory specialists, leadership and more, she said. Catalent didn't disclosehow much it will pay for Delphi.

Delphi, which spun off from the Universit libre de Bruxelles in 2001, boasts "one-stop-shop" CDMO services for preclinical work up to phase 3, includingprocess development, pilot production, plasmid design and production, strain screening and stability.Plus, just last March, Delphimore than tripled its plasmid production capacity in Gosselies, courtesy of three new manufacturing suites.

Read the rest here:
Catalent continues cell and gene therapy push with deal for Belgian CDMO - FiercePharma