FUJIFILM Biotechnologies has opened a £400M biomanufacturing and process development expansion in Teesside, North East England, strengthening UK capacity for biologics, vaccines and advanced therapies manufacturing.

Funded by FUJIFILM Corporation in Japan, the expansion includes what the company describes as the largest single-use biopharmaceutical CDMO facility in the UK, located at its existing Teesside site. The 110,000 sq ft manufacturing facility is expected to be operational in the first half of 2026 and introduces 2,000 L and 5,000 L single-use bioreactors with total capacity of up to 19,000 L, supporting small- and mid-scale antibody manufacturing.

Alongside the manufacturing expansion, the company has opened the Bioprocess Innovation Centre UK, a 102,200 sq ft laboratory facility focused on high-throughput and continuous process development. The centre doubles the campus’ laboratory footprint and will act as a hub for process development and technology transfer within Fujifilm’s global biomanufacturing network.

The UK investment forms part of more than £5bn invested globally over the past decade to expand the group’s CDMO capabilities. Toshihisa Iida, director, corporate vice president, general manager of life sciences strategy headquarters and Bio CDMO division at FUJIFILM Corporation, and chairman of FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, said: “Over the past decade, Fujifilm has invested more than £5 billion globally to grow our CDMO business – demonstrating our steadfast commitment to increasing our production capacity and capabilities to meet the growing demand for innovative medicines and vaccines for patients around the globe.”

He added: “The opening of our UK expansion, will enable us to support our partners’ products from the process development stage to early clinical manufacturing – ranging from low-volume therapies for ultra-rare diseases to commercial biologics all from one site.”

Lars Petersen, president and CEO of FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, said the site would strengthen cross-site technology transfer through the company’s modular biomanufacturing approach. “This site provides pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners with enhanced scalability, speed to market, and cross-site technology transfer, helping to ensure reliable medicine supply for patients in the UK and globally,” he said.

The expanded operations are aligned with Fujifilm’s facility in Toyama, Japan, supporting technology harmonisation and transfer between sites. The new manufacturing building has been fully electrified, replacing gas-based production processes, and the site has set a target to run on 100% renewable electricity by 2030 as part of the group’s sustainability goals.

The Teesside campus employs more than 960 staff and forms part of a global FUJIFILM Biotechnologies workforce of around 5,000. The wider FUJIFILM Corporation footprint in the UK employs approximately 1,700 people across life sciences, diagnostic imaging, photography and print technologies.

The expansion was attended by national and regional political leaders, underlining the strategic importance of advanced biomanufacturing to the UK life sciences sector and domestic medicines supply chains.