Celonic Group, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specialized in development and production of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) and bio-therapeutics, has entered a long-term lease agreement for a new production site and office space spanning 91,500 square feet (8,500 sqm) in the WST-222 building at the Novartis-operated Life Science Park Rheintal. In this recently-announced life science park in Stein AG (Switzerland), Celonic will establish development and GMP production capacities for Cell & Gene Therapies (Cell & Gene), next-generation vaccines, and innovative biopharmaceuticals, to support clients from early clinical trials through commercialization.

Celonic plans a two-phase expansion, adding up to 20 GMP clean room suites and offices along with laboratories for process development, method development and quality control services. Celonic aims to open the facility for GMP production in Q2 2022, enabling client’s access to best-in-class CDMO services from one of the leading state-of-the-art infrastructures in the world. Celonic plans to create up to 250 new, highly-skilled positions in Stein.

“This expansion to the Life Science Park Rheintal demonstrates our commitment to address the growing demand for cell and gene therapy manufacturing. With its unique location and on-site services, this state-of-the-art facility will further boost Celonic’s expansion into the Cell & Gene space and enable us to offer large-scale ATMP GMP manufacturing from early 2022,” said Konstantin Matentzoglu, chief executive officer, Celonic AG. “We are looking forward to establishing a world-class cell and gene therapy facility in this fast-developing life sciences hub operated by Novartis.”

The development and manufacturing capabilities of Celonic, together with the infrastructure of the Life Science Park Rheintal and the expertise of Europe’s leading region for life sciences and pharmaceutical development, will establish the region of Basel and Stein as the central hub for the development and commercialization of next-generation ATMPs to support patients with unmet medical needs.

Javier Hernández, head global site development, Novartis Technical Operations, said, “We would like to warmly welcome Celonic as a new tenant to the new Life Science Park Rheintal in Stein, which offers a comprehensive portfolio of services and an excellent environment for life sciences companies. We look forward to creating an attractive life sciences hub that benefits from the excellent competitive situation in north-western Switzerland.”
Currently, the Life Science Park is home to more than 2,000 employees from three pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies working in research, development, and production.