130,000-square-foot Vancouver facility aims to accelerate the development of antibody-based therapies for an array of medical conditions.

AbCellera (Nasdaq: ABCL) today announced it has secured a site in Vancouver for the construction of a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) manufacturing facility for the production of therapeutic antibodies, which will be the first of its kind in Canada. The 130,000-square-foot facility will expand AbCellera’s capabilities in bringing new antibody therapies to clinical trials, supporting Canada’s efforts to respond quickly and effectively to future pandemics and providing AbCellera’s partners with a full solution for accelerating their programs from a drug target to the submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application.

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Rendering of AbCellera’s GMP Facility at 900-Block Evans Avenue. Images provided by Chernoff Thompson Architects

“We envision AbCellera as a premier destination for the brightest and most creative minds, for people who seek challenges and who want to work at the leading edge,” said Murray McCutcheon, Ph.D., Vice President of Corporate Development at AbCellera. “Our recently announced headquarters and new GMP facility will empower entirely new capabilities and jobs in Canada that we believe will make our communities stronger, bring treatments to patients sooner, and leave a legacy of innovation.”

This announcement follows AbCellera’s April groundbreaking on a new global headquarters in Vancouver. The 380,000-square-foot headquarters on 4th Avenue between Columbia and Manitoba Streets will be within walking distance of the new GMP manufacturing facility. The new GMP facility will be built on what is currently a vacant two-acre site, and the planned building will house laboratory, office, GMP protein biologic manufacturing, and warehouse space. Design efforts are already underway and groundbreaking is scheduled for later this year.

In parallel with the construction of the new facility, AbCellera is also building up an internal Chemistry Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) development organization – the team of scientists and engineers responsible for developing the manufacturing processes for antibody therapeutics. CMC and GMP manufacturing capabilities will extend AbCellera’s competencies and, when combined with AbCellera’s world-leading technology stack for antibody discovery, will enable AbCellera to support partners to move rapidly and seamlessly from discovery to the clinic.

“AbCellera has already redefined the speed of antibody drug discovery, and the addition of CMC and GMP capabilities gives us the ability to fully integrate lead therapeutic selection, moving key choices earlier, and aligning teams to make a seamless arc of drug development for our partners,” said Bo Barnhart, Ph.D., Scientific Director at AbCellera. “We are building a unique team that includes innovative CMC Development leaders, deeply integrated with Discovery and Translational Research, all focused on selecting and developing better therapeutics to go from antibody discovery to fill-finish in a year.”

The facility is scheduled to be ready for GMP manufacturing in early 2024, and at full capacity will employ hundreds of highly skilled scientific personnel. AbCellera anticipates adding hundreds of employees to its current workforce of nearly 300 people over the next few years. The development of the new GMP manufacturing facility is funded in part by a US$125.6-million grant from the Canadian government’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to support AbCellera’s work and Canada’s ability to respond quickly to future pandemics.

“I am pleased to see AbCellera participating in our government’s effort to reverse a four-decade decline in Canada’s domestic capacity,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “This is an important step toward improving Canada’s pandemic preparedness, and a driver for our economic recovery.”

AbCellera is at the forefront of the global COVID-19 response, with its discovery of bamlanivimab, the world’s first monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19 to be authorized for emergency use by both the U.S. FDA and Health Canada. More than 400,000 doses of bamlanivimab have been administered worldwide, keeping more than 22,000 patients out of hospital, and saving at least 11,000 lives. AbCellera has also discovered a second antibody, LY-CoV1404, that is being advanced by Eli Lilly & Company to address emerging and future variants. This antibody has been shown to be effective against all currently circulating variants of concern and entered clinical trials in May.

About AbCellera Biologics Inc.

AbCellera is a technology company that searches, decodes, and analyzes natural immune systems to find antibodies that its partners can develop into drugs to prevent and treat disease. AbCellera partners with drug developers of all sizes, from large pharmaceutical to small biotechnology companies, empowering them to move quickly, reduce costs, and tackle the toughest problems in drug development. To learn more, please visit us at www.abcellera.com.

AbCellera Forward-looking Statements

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Source: AbCellera Biologics Inc.

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