Avid Bioservices, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on development and CGMP manufacturing services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, highlighted the companies’ collaborative efforts that enabled the phase-one opening of its new purpose-built, 53,000-square-foot viral vector and CGMP facility in Costa Mesa, CA, in only eight months.

The facility was designed and constructed by CRB, a global provider of sustainable engineering, architecture, construction and consulting solutions to the life sciences industry. The facility was built using the company’s ONEsolution project delivery approach.

By leveraging a single project team to align with Avid on cost and schedule without sacrificing quality, CRB’s design and execution fulfills Avid’s mission to address a critical gap in the treatment of oncology and rare disease by prioritizing the specific needs of the unique process development and manufacturing of viral vectors used in those treatments.

“Expanding our offerings into viral vectors was a natural adjacency for Avid, as previously explained by our CEO, Nick Green. However, the work really came down to finding a design-build partner with the process, design and construction expertise to help us deliver a best-in-class facility within a constrained schedule and budget,” said Mike Alston Jr., director of project engineering for Avid Bioservices. “We have been able to leverage dedicated design and construction teams for phase 1 and 2 to enable continuity across the facility, and also placed a major focus on early procurement and scheduling. Considering the challenges of the current supply chain environment, it has been nothing short of remarkable for Avid and CRB to be opening the doors of Avid’s new viral vector process development labs here in June.”

The state-of-the-art facility at full build-out will include capacity for adherent and suspension cultures. The second phase is expected to become operational in mid-calendar year 2023.

Rami Barghout, director of viral vector facilities, Avid Bioservices, said, “When presented with the opportunity to lead and support Avid’s organic growth and expansion of our business in the cell and gene therapy CDMO space, I was tremendously excited to be a part of the team. Next, when given the project parameters, schedule and budget, the first thing that came to mind, was ensuring we had trusted partner that could anticipate our needs and could work collaboratively and creatively to achieve our goals. To that end, CRB has been an instrumental partner technically and in navigating us through construction to achieve our aims.”

Matthew Khair, CRB’s vice president for the Western Region, said, “We’re so excited to have worked alongside Avid to help them realize their vision for a facility that answers an important but unmet need through the commercial-scale production of viral vectors. The close collaboration, enhanced planning and cultural alignment between teams created an unrivaled project experience and resulted in a facility that can close that production gap and speed therapies to patients.”