GE Healthcare Life Sciences is building a new 7,360 sqm facility in Grens, Switzerland. The site, located in the new Signy Park, will be equipped for the manufacture of single-use kits for the Sepax and Sefia cell processing systems. The facility will meet global regulatory requirements and is expected to be fully operational in 2022.
Nemaco, a Dutch-Swiss based developer that specialises in the realisation of made-to-measure buildings for multinational corporations, will design and build the new facility. It will be customised to meet specific business needs and will be able to scale with industry growth.
Rembert Berg, Nemaco Group Chairman, said: “We are honoured to start with the development of GE Healthcare Life Sciences’ new manufacturing facility in Signy Park, as the first and key long-term occupier for the Park.”
The new facility will be able to house up to 200 employees.
Emmanuel Ligner, President & CEO, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, said: “With more than 900 regenerative companies worldwide, we see increased demand for our resources and expertise.
Ligner said the company's Swiss operations are critical to the success of GE's cell and gene therapy customers. "This new facility will allow us to accelerate capacity and provide a single location where our research, engineering and service teams can thrive. Plus, we will be able to attract the region’s top talent," he added.
In addition to its manufacturing capabilities, the new site will house a Centre of Excellence that will feature advanced cell and gene therapy manufacturing facilities, and will also serve as a base for European customer training and educational initiatives. The facility will also support a growing Research & Development team and other subject matter experts.
“From clinical trials to commercialisation, regenerative medicine is going to transform global healthcare. This new facility will allow us to meet anticipated global demand while simultaneously developing the next generation of products that will accelerate the commercialisation and industrialisation of cell and gene therapies," said Catarina Flyborg, General Manager, Cell and Gene Therapy, GE Healthcare Life Sciences.
The new site will complement GE Healthcare Life Sciences global network of manufacturing facilities in the US, UK, Sweden and China.