Northway Biotech, a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) based out of Vilnius, Lithuania, recently welcomed an international delegation of ministers for a tour of its soon-to-open Waltham, Mass.-based facility. The 30,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will include R&D labs for microbial and mammalian cell line development, upstream and downstream process development, processes establishment and analytical support, and is slated to create an anticipated 50 new jobs.
The Waltham facility, set to open later this year, is a sister site to a facility located in Vilnius, Lithuania, which has been operated by Northway Biotech CEO Vladas Bumelis, PhD, for over 17 years. The new facility, which meets current good manufacturing practice requirements as outlined by the Food and Drug Administration, is outfitted with both single-use and stainless-steel systems for upstream and downstream process development, formulation, and fill-finish of microbial and mammalian cell culture-based products for the development of monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins. The facility’s flexible design and integrated infrastructure will enable the development, formulation and manufacturing of clients’ proteins and antibodies, while aseptic drug product manufacturing capabilities will add further value to customers’ projects from a timeline and cost perspective.
“We were honored to host this distinguished delegation to show them both the progress we have made in developing this site and the promise it holds to fill the needs for a client centric mid-sized CDMO with experience working with start-up biotech companies,” said Bumelis. “Among the many benefits of having sites both here in Waltham and in Lithuania is the ease with which experience, technology, processes and products can be seamlessly transferred from the U.S. to Europe for approval in either place. Our clients will ultimately benefit from one company operating across two sites, both providing reliable, extensive experience.”
The international delegation included Ausrine Armonaite, Minister of Economy for Lithuania; Audra Plepyte, Lithuanian Ambassador to the U.S. and Mexico; Teo Forcht Dagi, Honorary Consulate of Lithuania and others to tour the site.
Additionally, the delegation was joined by Jeannetta A. McCarthy, Mayor of Waltham; Kathleen McMenimen, President, Waltham City Council; Joe Vizard, Waltham City Clerk and Ben Bradford, Vice President of Economic Development and Workforce at MassBio.
Northway Biotech is part of the burgeoning life sciences sector in Lithuania, which, according to Innovation Agency Lithuania, is growing at the fastest rate in the EU, 16% annually, with exports contributing significantly to the growth, which increased by 62% in 2020 alone.
“We are thrilled to welcome Northway Biotech to the Boston biotech cluster, the nation’s premier global life sciences hub,” said Ben Bradford from MassBio. “Adding Northway’s offerings to Massachusetts will complement the strong service community supporting innovative biopharma companies in advancing their products through the drug development pipeline.”
Editor’s note: photos from the event can be accessed here: https://bit.ly/3ypgGIY
About Northway Biotech
Northway Biotech is a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) supporting customers worldwide. Its highly experienced, professional team executes projects at any stage, from cell line construction and process development to cGMP manufacturing of biopharmaceutical products. The company’s wide-ranging expertise and vertically integrated service offering translate to the ability to rapidly execute multiple projects from its state-of-the-art GMP facilities while ensuring full process and product compliance at all stages of research, development and commercial manufacturing. Northway Biotech is a privately owned company founded in 2004 and located in Vilnius, Lithuania; London, United Kingdom; and in Waltham, Mass., U.S.
Learn more at www.northwaybiotech.com.
