- FUJIFILM has completed its first antibody drug manufacturing plant in Japan at its Toyama Second Factory, with operations planned to begin in 2027.
- The facility will form part of a bio CDMO hub in Asia, offering end-to-end contract manufacturing services for biologics, including antibodies and ADCs.
FUJIFILM Corporation has announced the completion of a new biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) facility at the Toyama Second Factory of FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical in Japan. The plant is the company’s first antibody drug manufacturing site in the country and is scheduled to become operational in 2027.
The new facility is equipped with two 5,000-litre mammalian cell culture bioreactors and two 2,000-litre bioreactors, among the largest single-use systems of their kind. It adopts FUJIFILM’s kojoX™ modular facility design approach, aligning equipment and quality management systems with FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ site in the UK to support faster technology transfer and reduced construction timelines.
Together with an adjacent plant currently under construction, the Toyama site is intended to provide end-to-end manufacturing services, from drug substance production through to finished goods and packaging. FUJIFILM said the site will support contract manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, including antibody drugs and antibody-drug conjugates, drawing on FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical’s aseptic manufacturing expertise and FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ CDMO experience in Europe and the U.S.
The company said growing domestic demand for biopharmaceuticals in Japan, combined with reliance on overseas manufacturing, has created challenges in process development speed and technology transfer. The new Japan-based facility is designed to meet global quality standards and reduce barriers related to language and geography, supporting faster market launch and supply stability.
FUJIFILM added that the new plant and the adjacent mRNA therapeutics and vaccine facility under construction have been selected by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry for a national project to strengthen vaccine production, allowing the site to switch between biopharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing as needed.
