Catalent buys Belgian CDMO to boost pDNA manufacturing and service offering

New facility at Gosselies site will host commercial scale pDNA manufacturing as Catalent extends its cell and gene therapy footprint

Catalent has bought Promethera Biosciences’ cell therapy manufacturing subsidiary, Hepatic Cell Therapy Support (HCTS), including its 32,400 square-foot facility in Gosselies, Belgium.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The CDMO said the facility will host its new commercial-scale plasmid DNA manufacturing and will support the immediate growth of its overall pDNA service offering, which activated after the acquisition of Delphi Genetics in February.

The new facility is located on Catalent’s existing campus in Gosselies, adjacent to the Delphi Genetics building, and houses an existing cleanroom infrastructure, process development and quality control laboratories and warehouse space, and will be equipped to provide pDNA manufacturing up to a 500-liter scale.

Fitting out the facility is expected to begin immediately, and more than 200 jobs will be created over the next five years, Catalent said.

“Plasmid DNA manufacturing is a critical component to many biological therapeutics, including viral vectors, mRNA, and cellular therapies. This investment allows Catalent to support these programs from development through to CGMP commercial production, offering the full horizontal supply chain,” said Manja Boerman, President, Catalent Cell & Gene Therapy.

HCTS is the third purchase Catalent has made at its Gosselies location – it also bought MaSTherCell in March 2020 – as it continues to expand its cell and gene therapy European Center of Excellence.