Marking the occasion with a ceremony, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, has announced the construction of a new biologics manufacturing facility at its Oceanside, CA campus.
The new facility will harness transformational digital technologies to move medicines from production to patients faster and more sustainably, making it one of the most modern commercial-scale biotech manufacturing facilities in the world.
Sustainable design has been integrated into the facility from construction to production, making it more environmentally friendly than traditional manufacturing facilities, and the modular design will enable simultaneous production of multiple medicines as well as the ability to quickly pivot from producing one medicine to another. When operational in early 2025, the facility will be the first location in the company’s global manufacturing network designed specifically for the fast, efficient and sustainable commercial production of biologics for smaller patient populations, including rare diseases and personalized medicines.
Genentech’s Oceanside campus was selected for this new manufacturing facility due to its proximity to world-class biotech talent and the company’s Clinical Supply Center in South San Francisco, CA.
In addition to location, the standardised design of both facilities will enable Genentech to transfer production between the two sites at unprecedented speed, reducing the traditional six to eighteen month timeline for this process to just a few days, and ultimately getting medicines to patients faster.
Genentech is investing approximately $450m in advanced manufacturing capabilities at its Oceanside campus, and plans to add approximately 150 local, full-time jobs to support operations in addition to the trades who will be engaged during construction.
“As the founder of the biotechnology industry, Genentech pioneered the processes and technologies used to manufacture complex biologic medicines,” said Alexander Hardy, Chief Executive Officer, Genentech.
“After more than four decades of manufacturing innovation, we remain committed to our home state of California and continue to invest in new ways to bring medicines to patients quicker and more sustainably.”
