AGC Partners with Medinet to Launch Cell Therapy CDMO Services in Japan

• AGC and Medinet sign a strategic partnership to strengthen cell therapy CDMO capabilities in Japan.

• The collaboration aims to launch cell therapy manufacturing services at AGC Biologics’ Yokohama site by 2026.

AGC, the parent company of AGC Biologics, a global biopharmaceutical CDMO, has entered into a strategic partnership with Medinet to expand cell therapy manufacturing services in Japan. The agreement focuses on enhancing capabilities through shared expertise and resource exchange between the two companies.

The partnership includes the exchange and training of manufacturing and quality personnel, with AGC initially sending its specialists to support Medinet’s operations in Japan. This collaboration will prepare for the launch of AGC’s cell therapy CDMO services at its Yokohama site, with partial services beginning in 2025 and full-scale operations slated for 2026. The goal is to build on Medinet’s experience with local start-ups and academic institutions while leveraging AGC Biologics’ global manufacturing capabilities.

This collaboration is expected to broaden the range of services offered by Medinet in its CDMO business, benefiting from AGC’s large-scale development and commercial manufacturing capabilities in Japan, Europe, and the U.S. Katsunori Ogawa, Head of Sony’s Life Science & Technology Business Unit, noted, “Incorporating high-performance cell analysis and sorting capabilities in an end-to-end automated process paves the way for scaling up the manufacturing of those therapies.”