AGC Biologics, a global biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), unveiled plans for the expansion of their Cell and Gene Therapy Center of Excellence in Milan, Italy to increase capacities and implement viral vector suspension capabilities.

With this expansion, AGC Biologics will add two additional floors to the suite and install additional equipment on the current floor. The new facilities are scheduled to begin full operation in 2022.

“I’m very pleased that we’ll be able to offer our current and future cell and gene therapy customers even more of what they need from our Milan facility,” said Mark Womack, chief business officer, AGC Biologics. “This is but one of the important steps we are taking to ensure we keep pace with the evolving needs of the market.”

Patricio Massera, chief executive officer, ACG Biologics, said, “This investment is part of our global cell and gene therapy expansion plan in Europe, Asia and the U.S. All of our innovation and expansion is focused on the needs of our partners and the patients they serve. I look forward to announcing additional expansion plans soon.”

The expansion comes less than one year following AGC’s acquisition and integration of the former MolMed S.p.A. facilities. The Milan site was the first GMP facility approved in Europe for ex-vivo gene therapy manufacturing and has unique commercial manufacturing experience, with two cell and gene therapy products. AGC Biologics is now one of the very few CDMO’s in the world offering both plasmid production and end-to-end cell and gene therapy services.