Emily
Editor, Senior Moderator
Redmond facility opens to make monoclonal antibodies and re-imagine drug production
Aug. 19, 2021 at 6:00 am Updated Aug. 19, 2021 at 7:46 pm
By Akash Pasricha
Seattle Times business reporter
REDMOND — At 130,000 square feet, the company behind the region’s newest pharma lab is touting just how small it is. But that’s the point.
Just-Evotec, a life sciences company jointly based in Seattle and Germany, opened its new facility on Wednesday , where it will discover, design and manufacture drugs. The company says its novel “J.POD” lab infrastructure and its production processes allow it to be faster and cheaper than most other drug-production facilities.
The facility produces “drug substances,” or bulk quantities of drugs that are sent elsewhere to be finished and filled into vials and syringes.
“We have the most advanced manufacturing facility for manufacturing biologics on the planet,” said James Thomas, global head of biotherapeutics at Just-Evotec, during a ribbon-cutting event. “This is a really a large building, but it’s actually probably two or three times smaller than an equivalent facility.”
...
Just-Evotec will contract its space to pharmaceutical and biotech companies to produce antibody-based therapies, which are derived from the human immune system. Thomas said antibody-based therapies have the potential to treat “every area” of diseases and disorders, including oncology, heart disease and more.
The Department of Defense will begin using the facility this fall to make monoclonal antibodies for the virus that causes COVID-19, a contract worth $28.6 million, which was awarded to Just-Evotec in January.
“Fighting a pandemic [and] seeing variants come through really highlight how important it is that we … can scale in terms of response with biologics,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Democrat representing Washington’s 1st Congressional District, at the event. Just-Evotec’s new facility “is an example of that” capability, she said.
The Department of Defense did not respond to a request for additional details on the contract....
Aug. 19, 2021 at 6:00 am Updated Aug. 19, 2021 at 7:46 pm
By Akash Pasricha
Seattle Times business reporter
REDMOND — At 130,000 square feet, the company behind the region’s newest pharma lab is touting just how small it is. But that’s the point.
Just-Evotec, a life sciences company jointly based in Seattle and Germany, opened its new facility on Wednesday , where it will discover, design and manufacture drugs. The company says its novel “J.POD” lab infrastructure and its production processes allow it to be faster and cheaper than most other drug-production facilities.
The facility produces “drug substances,” or bulk quantities of drugs that are sent elsewhere to be finished and filled into vials and syringes.
“We have the most advanced manufacturing facility for manufacturing biologics on the planet,” said James Thomas, global head of biotherapeutics at Just-Evotec, during a ribbon-cutting event. “This is a really a large building, but it’s actually probably two or three times smaller than an equivalent facility.”
...
Just-Evotec will contract its space to pharmaceutical and biotech companies to produce antibody-based therapies, which are derived from the human immune system. Thomas said antibody-based therapies have the potential to treat “every area” of diseases and disorders, including oncology, heart disease and more.
The Department of Defense will begin using the facility this fall to make monoclonal antibodies for the virus that causes COVID-19, a contract worth $28.6 million, which was awarded to Just-Evotec in January.
“Fighting a pandemic [and] seeing variants come through really highlight how important it is that we … can scale in terms of response with biologics,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Democrat representing Washington’s 1st Congressional District, at the event. Just-Evotec’s new facility “is an example of that” capability, she said.
The Department of Defense did not respond to a request for additional details on the contract....