PharmaCell B.V. a contract manufacturer for Cellular Therapies and Regenerative Medicine in Europe, has entered into an agreement with TiGenix N.V. to purchase its cell therapy production facility in Sittard-Geleen, The Netherlands. TiGenix is a European cell therapy company with a marketed product, ChondroCelect, for cartilage repair.
 
PharmaCell will acquire the facility, including its team of employees in production, QC, QA and other functions. ChondroCelect will continue to be manufactured at the site under a long-term agreement with PharmaCell.
 
In 2012, the Sittard-Geleen manufacturing facility successfully passed cGMP inspection by the Dutch authorities, and obtained approval from the EMA for the production of ChondroCelect. PharmaCell plans to produce other commercial and investigational cell therapy and regenerative medicine products at the site.
 
Alexander Vos, chief executive officer of PharmaCell B.V., said, “The new partnership with TiGenix is a further step forward to strengthen our business in support of the development of the cell therapy industry in Europe. PharmaCell and TiGenix have created a collaborative business model for cell therapeutics in general and for ChondroCelect in particular.”