CSL Behring has made a name for itself manufacturing biologics and plasma, but its unveiling of a new R&D site—slated to be the company’s largest—is evidence of expanded development efforts.
The new facility, located in Marburg, Germany, will house more than 500 employees under one roof and hopes to draw “promising scientific partners and talent” to collaborate with, according to the company’s announcement Tuesday. The 150 million euro ($150 million) operation has been under construction for three years.
But why Marburg, a city of roughly 75,000 that’s a 90-minute drive to the nearest major metropolitan area? The company says it’s where Nobel Prize-winning founder Emil von Behring lived and worked, making the facility a sentimental homecoming. Strategically, the company is making a concerted effort to branch out from biologics manufacturing.
“While plasma remains one of our strategic scientific platforms, we have evolved and innovated over the decades—also discovering, developing and delivering medicines and vaccines across the scientific platforms of recombinant technology, cell and gene therapy, and cell-based, egg-based, adjuvanted, and sa-mRNA vaccines,” said CEO Paul Perreault in the release.
The new site's 7,000 square meters of lab space will have ample room for scientists to explore these additional development avenues. All told, the facility is 40,000 square meters, including 7,000 square meters of lab space, 7,000 square meters of workspace and 800 square meters of space for startups to lease out.
The company did not circle an exact date for the facility’s official launch, saying only that it will open later this year.
CSL Behring is the global biotherapeutics business of Australia-based CSL. In recent years, the company has fleshed out a distinct pipeline of its own, included a prominent footprint in hemophilia B. The company’s hemophilia B gene therapy nabbed FDA priority review earlier this summer.