67,000-square-foot facility at Carlsbad campus is part of CDMO's investment strategy that addresses growing global demand for cell and gene therapies and vaccines

Thermo Fisher Scientific has opened a new cGMP plasmid DNA manufacturing facility in California in response to what the CDMO says is rapidly growing demand for plasmid DNA-based therapies and vital mRNA-based vaccines.

The CDMO said the 67,000-square-foot facility at its Carlsbad campus is part of an investment strategy that addresses growing global demand for cell and gene therapies and vaccines.

The expansion will add more than 150 new job as manufacturing scales, Thermo Fisher said.

Plasmid DNA is increasingly used as a therapeutic agent in gene therapies and certain vaccines. Its advantages, including weak immunogenicity, increased safety and ease of manufacture, have increased demand for materials and manufacturing capacity globally.

"Demand for commercial plasmid DNA is outpacing supply as the development of transformative gene therapies and vaccines accelerates globally," said Marc Casper, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Thermo Fisher.

Thermo Fisher currently has fully integrated development, supply chain and manufacturing capabilities, including viral vector services in Cambridge, Lexington and Plainville, Massachusetts,  Alachua, Florida and Gosselies and Seneffe, Belgium; a new cell therapy manufacturing facility in Princeton, New Jersey; and a new cryocenter in Weil am Rhein, Germany to support clinical trials.