Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies

Biotech contract development and manufacturing organization

Fujifilm Diosynth BiotechnologiesCompany type| Subsidiary

|

Industry| Biotechnology
Founded| 1923; 102 years ago (1923)
Parent| Fujifilm
Website| fujifilmdiosynth.com

Not to be confused with Russell Marker's company, which eventually became part of Gedeon Richter Ltd..

FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, abbreviated and often referred to as FDB, is a biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing organization that develops manufacturing processes and manufactures active ingredients and provides fill and finish services for pharmaceutical companies.[1] FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is the world's second largest contract manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals, with manufacturing facilities in Morrisville, North Carolina and College Station, Texas in the United States, Teesside, United Kingdom and Hillerød, Denmark in Europe, and recently added sites in Thousand Oaks, California and Watertown, Massachusetts.[2] FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies operates a highly automated multipurpose manufacturing facility in College Station, Texas[3] under the federal government's Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM) program, which is the largest scale-out cell culture manufacturing facility in the United States.[4]

## History

[edit]

The company started in Oss, Netherlands in 1923 with the extraction of insulin from bovine pancreata, and porcine insulin extraction in 1930.[5][6][7] In January 2005, the company became a part of Organon, one of its sister companies in the Akzo Nobel pharma group.[8] Along with its sister companies Organon and Intervet were sold to Schering-Plough in March 2007 by Akzo Nobel.[9] Following the mergers of Schering-Plough with Merck & Co. (MSD) on March 9, 2009,[10] the company temporarily became part of the MSD Nutritionals products company, belonging to the MSD group. [11] In 2009, MSD acquired the biologics business of the Avecia group, which consists of the Billingham, UK site.[12] Combined, the Merck/MSD BioManufacturing Network was formed by the combination of Avecia Biologics and Diosynth Biotechnology offering contract manufacturing services.

In April 2011, the Merck BioManufacturing Network was sold to Fujifilm, forming Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies.[13][14] For most of the company's history, Diosynth manufactured biochemical substances and fine chemicals, with pharmaceutical raw materials coming largely from either animal origin or chemical intermediates. Under Fujifilm, it no longer focuses on small molecules, but instead develops processes for and mass manufactures biologics (e.g., proteins and mRNA). On December 18, 2014, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies acquired Kalon Biotherapeutic Technologies in College Station, TX, which became Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies Texas.[15][16]

In March 2020, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies named Martin Meeson the company's new CEO. He took over from Steve Bagshaw who was set to retire and became a non-executive chairman.[17] In June 2023, Lars Petersen succeeded Martin Meeson as the new CEO. [18]

Subject to regulatory approval, at least 60 million doses of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine will be manufactured for the UK government from 2021 by Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies at its Billingham site.[19][20]

In March 2021, the company announced that it had selected Holly Springs, North Carolina, located near its existing operations in Morrisville, for a $2 billion investment to establish a new large-scale cell culture production site, which is expected to be operational in 2025 and create 725 new jobs by the end of 2028. The company plans to install 8 x 20,000L bioreactors at the facility and plan for the ability to add an additional 24 x 20,000L bioreactors, as well as production lines for large scale automated fill and finish, labeling, and packaging services.[21][22][23]

## References

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1. ^ "Global CDMO". FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
2. ^ "Our Facilities". FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
3. ^ Carr, Teresa (2021-04-09). "This COVID-19 Vaccine Plant Shows Texas Is Becoming Biotech's Third Coast". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
4. ^ "FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies Begins Production of Two COVID-19 Vaccines Candidates at Texas Facility". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
5. ^ "Diosynth Company History". Diosynth. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
6. ^ "Diosynth and Biochemistry". Diosynth. Archived from the original on 18 December 2003. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
7. ^ "Diosynth-Usine Saint Charles, France-Insulin Extraction Plant". Vanelk. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
8. ^ "81 Years of Organon at a Glance". Organon. Archived from the original on 9 March 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
9. ^ "Schering-Plough Acquires Organon BioSciences". Medical Net News. 20 November 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
10. ^ Singer (10 March 2010). "Merck to Buy Schering-Plough for $41 Billion". New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
11. ^ Communication from one employee, no reference found on the web site, but a presentation of Diosynth france company (modified April 2012)
12. ^ "Merck & Co., Inc. to Acquire Avecia Biologics | Fierce Biotech". www.fiercebiotech.com. 17 December 2009.
13. ^ "Company History". Fujifilm. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
14. ^ "Fujifilm to Acquire Merck Biomanufacturing Network". Merck.com. February 28, 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
15. ^ "Fujifilm completes acquisition of Kalon Biotherapeutics". FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies. 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
16. ^ "FUJIFILM Completes Acquisition of Kalon Biotherapeutics". BioProcess International. 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
17. ^ "New CEO takes over as Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies expands". FiercePharma. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
18. ^ "Fujifilm Appoints Lars Petersen as President & CEO of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, leading Global Bio CDMO". Fujifilm. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
19. ^ Boseley, Sarah; Davis, Nicola (28 January 2021). "Novavax Covid vaccine shown to be nearly 90% effective in UK trial". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
20. ^ Brown, Mike (14 August 2020). "60m doses of new covid-19 vaccine could be made in Billingham - and be ready for mid-2021". TeessideLive. Reach. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
21. ^ "Fujifilm Selects North Carolina as the Location to Build the Largest Cell Culture Biopharmaceutical CDMO Facility in North America | Fujifilm [United States]". FUJIFILM Corporation. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
22. ^ Ohnesorge, Lauren (18 March 2021). "Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies picks Wake town for 725-job facility". Triangle Business Journal. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
23. ^ Ohnesorge, Lauren (26 September 2021). "Behind the deal: How Holly Springs beat Texas for Fujifilm's $2B, 725-job project". Triangle Business Journal. Retrieved 2022-08-12.