Fujifilm Irvine Scientific, a provider of the development and manufacture of serum-free and chemically defined cell culture media for bioproduction and cell therapy manufacturing, has completed its Armstrong Cell Culture Center of Excellence. More than doubling the R&D facility’s footprint, the new state-of-the-art center enables the company to expand its capabilities in cutting-edge discovery research, bioproduction, cell and gene therapy, Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) and cytogenetics.

Construction of the site, based at Fujifilm Irvine Scientific’s headquarters in California, began in October 2021 and has recently been opened to its growing Life Sciences and Medical Media divisions. Having experienced significant growth in recent years, the company continues to invest in new facilities globally, including opening new sites in Europe and Asia within the past year. The new Armstrong Center will support many of its new programs and initiatives, including Manufacturing Sciences and Technologies (MSAT), Single-Use technology development, and automation platforms for media development. Alongside this, the expanded facility will offer dedicated workspace for cutting-edge research into analytical chemistry, virology, ART and additional cell culture and molecular based assay development, providing additional employment opportunities and projecting a doubling of growth in R&D headcount by the end of 2022.

“Continuing our 50 years’ of success and experience in the cell biology and cell culture solutions industry, we are driving forward with expansion plans to support ongoing innovation and growth across our diverse offerings of specialty media, technologies, and custom media services,” said Bob Newman, chief scientific officer, Fujifilm Irvine Scientific. “The global demand for access to these high quality and cost-effective therapies and services is increasing faster than ever before. Through this new Californian site, as well as the recent opening of the Collaboration and Innovation Center in Suzhou New District, China, Fujifilm Irvine Scientific is poised to provide enhanced technical collaboration opportunities between R&D experts worldwide, supporting development of personalized solutions and partnership opportunities.”