OmniaBio, a subsidiary of CCRM, has made an acquisition agreement with Medipost, a global company in stem cell therapeutics. Medipost is acquiring an interest in OmniaBio from CCRM for cash of $30 million and is investing an additional $60 million into OmniaBio.

“CCRM has spent a great deal of time looking for the right investment partner for OmniaBio, and we are very pleased to have Medipost on board,” said Mitchel Sivilotti, president of OmniaBio. “Medipost will be an initial anchor and revenue generating customer of OmniaBio and will also help us develop an international customer base in Asia. We are launching from a strong and stable position and will be starting construction at McMaster Innovation Park this summer.”

OmniaBio is expected to be Canada’s largest contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for the manufacture of cell and gene therapies. OmniaBio will provide Phase III and commercial-scale manufacturing of gene-modified cells and viral vectors that is an expansion of the clinical-stage capabilities already offered by CCRM.

The funding from Medipost contributes to an overall project worth $580 million for the real estate construction and operation of OmniaBio. 

“CCRM and Medipost share a global vision and desire for ecosystem building,” said Michael May, president and CEO, CCRM, “so we couldn’t be more pleased with this partnership. OmniaBio wouldn’t be possible without partners like UHN, Cytiva, the University of Toronto and our government funders. We are grateful to all who have supported our vision, including Medipost.”

Building on CCRM’s existing expertise, OmniaBio will work with a variety of cell types, such as T cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. OmniaBio’s manufacturing platforms are customized for viral vectors, as well as autologous and allogeneic cells. The facility will be compliant with Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and will benefit from GMP workforce training capabilities on-site through the Canadian Advanced Therapies Training Institute (CATTI)—a partnership between CCRM and Montreal-based CellCAN.

There is a manufacturing capacity issue in the cell and gene therapy industry due to the large volume of products in clinical trials, with demand outstripping CDMO availability by at least five times, according to CCRM. In the first phase of construction, OmniaBio will build an approximately 85,000 square foot facility, equipped with 15 clean rooms and staffed by 500 employees, which is expected to be completed in 2024. With further planned expansion, OmniaBio and CCRM combined will have more than 50 clean rooms and over 1000 employees when you include CCRM’s Centre for Cell and Vector Production at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, a partnership with UHN.