Avid Bioservices Expands into Viral Vector Development and Manufacturing Services

Avid Bioservices, a dedicated biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced in an Oct. 14, 2021 press release that the company is expanding its CDMO service into the rapidly growing cell and gene therapy market. The company will build a 53,000-ft² viral vector development and current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) manufacturing facility in Costa Mesa, Calif., near its existing Myford facility in Tustin, Calif.

The new facility’s analytical and process development laboratories are expected to come online within eight months. The remainder of the facility may take up to 18 months at an estimated cost of approximately $65–75 million.

A second phase of an ongoing expansion at the Myford manufacturing facility was announced in February 2021, adding a second manufacturing train with upstream and downstream suites.

“We believe that the addition of viral vector services is a natural extension of our existing traditional biologics offering and provides another avenue for growth by supporting the development and manufacturing of these innovative therapies,” said Nicholas Green, president and CEO of Avid Bioservices, in the press release.

Avid has appointed Drew Brennan as general manager of viral vector technologies to lead its expansion into the cell and gene therapy market. He most recently spent more than a decade in senior sales and operations positions at Novasep, including serving as general manager for Novasep’s US subsidiary, with responsibility for all products including viral vector CDMO services.

“I am thrilled to join the team at Avid Bioservices that maintains such an impressive reputation for high quality commercial manufacturing of biologic products,” said Brennan in the press release. “As more cell and gene therapy programs reach late-stage clinical development and, ultimately, product approval, the need for highly capable and reliable CDMO partners will only increase.”

Source: Avid Bioservices