Thermo Fisher Scientific Invests $800 Million into New Capabilities and Capacity

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced on March 23, 2020 that it will be investing more than $475 million into new capabilities and capacity in 2020, totaling $800 million when factoring in the investments the company made in 2019 across its pharma services business.

According to a company press release, Thermo Fisher is focused on investing to expand three specific areas of demand: biologics, cell and gene therapy, and drug product development and commercial capabilities. Its recent achievements in these areas include:

• Completing a $50 million expansion of its St. Louis, MO, site, making it one of the largest producers of biologics using single-use technology.

• Expanding its viral-vector development and manufacturing capabilities by opening a new site in Lexington, MA, and adding onto sites in Cambridge, MA, and Alachua, FL.

• Offering commercial spray-drying capabilities to enable a path from early development to commercial approval.

• Scaling up its global sterile drug development and commercial capabilities.

• Offering continuous manufacturing capabilities and commercial packaging capabilities.

• Introducing the QC Lab of the Future, which highlights its analytical instrument, automation, and informatics capabilities.

"We've invested strategically to ensure that lack of capabilities, capacity, or supply is never a reason medicines are delayed in reaching patients," said Mike Shafer, president, Thermo Fisher's pharma services business, in the press release. "Our offering can provide solutions at all points along the pathway to commercialization, whether it's an emerging biotech working on vaccine for a novel virus or a high-volume pharmaceutical manufacturer delivering necessary drugs at scale."

Source: Thermo Fisher Scientific