Thermo Fisher Scientific and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have partnered to open a new cGMP cell therapy manufacturing facility adjacent to UCSF Medical Center’s Mission Bay campus. The facility will be used by both UCSF researchers and Thermo Fisher Scientific customers.

According to Thermo Fisher Scientific (and many others in the industry), challenges in manufacturing cell therapies — especially at scale — are impeding wider adoption. The partnership was first announced in 2021 with the aim of overcoming some of these difficulties.

“By bringing increased capacity and extensive cell therapy experience to the city of San Francisco, we hope to accelerate the development of advanced cell therapy at UCSF and with the surrounding life sciences community, which is home to more than 200 biotechnology companies.” said Dan Herring, general manager of cell therapy services at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “In the future, we also hope to expand our partnerships with academia and industry focused on cell therapies and industry in the development of novel cell therapies and other immune cell-based therapies to treat patients with blood cancers, as well as those with solid tumors.” to support. ”

The facility will provide process and analytical development capabilities, as well as clinical and commercial cGMP manufacturing services for autologous and allogeneic cell therapies. It includes six individual, user-configurable GMP production suites (with expansion capacity) and self-contained HVAC and associated infrastructure to protect against cross-contamination.

UCSF researchers will use the facility to develop new therapies, with an initial focus on treating glioblastoma, multiple myeloma and other cancers using CAR-T and CRISPR technologies.

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Thermo Fisher Scientific continues to establish roots in the Bay Area.

The manufacturer opened the doors to a new cell therapy manufacturing facility adjacent to the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center’s Mission Bay campus and on the university campus.

Exterior view of Thermo Fisher’s new manufacturing facility

Click on the image to see the full-size version

UCSF and Thermo Fisher have partnered since 2021, with the new site focused on manufacturing cell therapeutics for certain cancers, including glioblastoma and multiple myeloma. The new site plans to leverage Thermo Fisher’s manufacturing services expertise to help UCSF accelerate the development of cell therapies and eventually bring them to the clinic, said Dan Herring, general manager of cell therapy services Thermo Fisher, in an interview with Endpoints News.

And herring

“CAR-T cell therapies are advancing at an increasingly early stage. They’re late-stage right now, but we want to be part of the team that pushes them to be more productive in the earlier treatment options,” Herring said.

The facility is 44,000 square feet and includes six production suites that are now operational. According to Herring, the building is a former plumbing parts warehouse and manufacturing facility that was acquired by UCSF. It was converted into a cell therapy manufacturing facility by Thermo Fisher.

There is also space to build six more suites, Herring said, adding that the site will be able to manufacture autologous and allogeneic cell therapies and will have analytical development, standard manufacturing processes and technology transfer capability. He did not confirm the headcount or the cost of the facility to Endpoints.

Herring is optimistic that Thermo Fisher will work even more closely with academic institutions in the future.

“The concept of being close to the patient is really difficult to implement, but also exciting when it succeeds. And I think we’ve achieved that,” he said.

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The state’s stem cell agency is moving into the heart of Bay Area biotech.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine will move its headquarters across the bay, from Oakland to South San Francisco, birthplace of the life sciences industry.

Its new facilities at 601 Gateway Blvd. puts CIRM squarely in the region’s original biopharmaceutical hub as it works to promote late-stage clinical trials and bring to market the medical technologies it has funded for nearly two decades, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The 12-story office tower is owned by a joint venture of real estate investment trusts Alexandria Real Estate Equities, based in Pasadena, and Boston Properties.

South San Francisco is the location of choice for leading life science companies. The San Mateo County city, home to more than 200 biotech companies, bills itself as the birthplace of the industry, with the largest biotech cluster in the world.

CIRM’s new neighbors will include Merck, AbbVie, Amgen and Genentech, plus large and midsized drug companies and early-stage biotech firms. Its new home is within the three-building Gateway Commons life sciences campus.

CIRM, which has been based in Oakland since moving from San Francisco in 2015, will pay more for the new location, the newspaper reported.

Its eight-year lease for nearly 16,800 square feet on the fourth floor of 601 Gateway starts June 1 at $61.20 per square foot. While the rate is below what is usually charged for life sciences space in South San Francisco, it’s more than CIRM the $41 per square foot it’s paying for its 17,000 square-foot headquarters overlooking Lake Merritt in Oakland.

CIRM, initially funded by a $3 billion bond measure voters passed in 2004, has doled out grants to institutions such as UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco and Stanford University while providing early-stage funding for start-up firms.

In November 2020, California voters narrowly approved a $5.5 billion bond measure to support stem cell and other medical research, including new therapies for such diseases as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other brain and central nervous system conditions.

The new measure allowed CIRM, run by President and CEO Maria Millan, to bring therapies for Food and Drug Administration approval, with any sales royalties paid to the state. Its five-year plan also includes expanding its clinics, creating community care centers, and building a public-private manufacturing network.

[San Francisco Business Times] – Dana Bartholomew

Contact Dana Bartholomew

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A huge illegal slideshow in San Francisco was caught on cellphone video just before 3:00 a.m. on 6th and Harrison Streets early Sunday morning.

No arrests related to the slide show have been made this early morning, San Francisco police said.

The slideshow still happens often, even as the cities of San Francisco and Bay Area move to root out the deed.

During this exhibition, intersections will be closed and the public will block traffic with their cars to prevent the police from entering before the huge crowd is gone.

The slide show was recorded after police and city officials vowed for almost a year to end this illegality.

A new law was passed last fall that now allows vehicles linked to illegal slide shows to be confiscated for up to 30 days.

In addition, the monitoring of these activities is supplemented by 15 additional city cameras.

A specialized stunt drive response unit was even created by the San Francisco Police Department.

Illegal slideshows are considered a dangerous subject that is upsetting the Bay Area.

The city of San Jose has used the toughest method yet to curb this illegality. Last June, the city became the first major city in the United States to illegalize the promotion of slide shows. Advertising over the phone, social media, or word of mouth is considered illegal.

Last year, city guides banned people from watching a slide show, KRON4 reported.

Anyone who has more information about the illegal slide show is asked to contact the police.

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