Bristol Myers Squibb Breaks Ground on European Cell Therapy Facility at Leiden Bio Science Park
The company is on pace to open its first CAR T cell therapy manufacturing center in Europe by 2024
US-based Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has started the construction of its CAR T cell therapy production center at the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP) in the Netherlands. First announced in April 2021, the Dutch facility will be the biopharmaceutical company’s first cell therapy center in Europe and the fifth in the world. BMS expects the facility to be operational at the end of 2024, bringing the manufacturing of its cell therapies closer to European patients. In addition, the new production facility is expected to create at least 500 new jobs in the Dutch life sciences & health ecosystem.
Arjen Schippers, Senior Director and Program Head at BMS Leiden, said the European facility is an important development: “The new production center is our first in Europe, which will enable us to bring the manufacturing of this innovative cell therapy closer to European patients. This may help to reduce the turnaround time, saving valuable time for patients in Europe with aggressive blood cancers.”
Strategic Dutch location helps Bristol Myers Squibb expand innovative cancer treatment globally
BMS’s Dutch facility will feature the latest technology and production equipment, with capabilities for multi-product cell therapy manufacturing. This will provide European cancer patients with personalized medication treatments, whereby they use their own cells to fight their cancer. The new production center is also strategically located near Schiphol airport and to the cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, giving BMS access to markets in Europe and worldwide.
“This is in line with BMS’s aim to realize a globally expanding production network for cell therapy,” explained Snehal Patel, Vice President, Global Head of Cell Therapy Manufacturing at BMS. “By continuing to expand our international network, we can serve patients better all over the world, not only with CAR T cell therapy, but eventually also with other innovative scientific therapies for cancer.”
500 new jobs at Leiden Bio Science Park
As the largest life sciences region in the Netherlands, the LBSP hosts an international community for innovation and collaboration, in addition to an attractive, top-notch talent pool. This community will grow with the addition of 500 jobs at BMS’s new facility.
“We are proud that BMS has chosen the LBSP as the site for constructing its European state-of-the-art CAR T production facility,” said Ida Haisma, Director of Leiden Bio Science Park. “CAR T is a key technology for fighting serious diseases like cancer, and it is a perfect fit for the profile of the LBSP. The facility is a new building block in LBSP’s extensive cell therapy network and it will further reinforce the position of the Netherlands in personalized medicine.”
Source: Bristol Myers Squibb
2 November 2021