Doubling of LFB’S BIOPRODUCTION CAPACITY AT ALÈS WITH THE SUPPORT OF “FRANCE 2030”
LFB PLANS TO DOUBLE BIOPRODUCTION CAPACITY AT ITS ALÈS SITE WITH THE SUPPORT OF “FRANCE 2030”
Alès (Gard department, France) – 5 October 2023 – LFB BIOMANUFACTURING, a subsidiary of the LFB Group specialising in the production of therapeutic proteins by cell culture, is launching a project this year to increase its bioproduction capacity, with funding from the “France 2030” plan. This is a strategic project for LFB and will help doubling the industrial capacities of its Alès site, and thus increase the bioproduction of innovative therapies in France.
In response to the “Industrialisation et Capacités Santé 2030” (“2030 Industrialisation and Health Capacity”) call for projects managed by Bpifrance, the French Prime Minister decided to fund LFB’s project for up to €6.7 million. The project, with a total cost of more than €20 million, is fully in line with the objectives of the French Health Innovation Agency and the “France 2030” Health component of the 2030 Health Innovation Plan. It will be funded in part under the “Biothérapies et bioproduction de thérapies innovantes“ (“Biotherapies and Bioproduction of Innovative Therapies”) Acceleration Strategy.
As a CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation) the Alès industrial site, which is approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), puts its know-how and industrial equipment to the service of its customers. LFB BIOMANUFACTURING offers support ranging from the development of cell lines and processes on an industrial scale to the manufacturing of clinical and commercial batches. It aims to play a major role, within the framework of the “France2030” plan, in support of both large pharmaceutical groups and French start-ups and biotechs developing therapeutic monoclonal and conjugated antibodies, recombinant proteins or even cell therapies.
In the words of Bruno BONNELL, General Secretary of the “Secrétariat Général pour l’Investissement”: “We applaud the ambition of this project, which fits perfectly into the vision of the Health component of “France 2030” whose aim is to produce at least 20 -biologics in France, through an increase in bioproduction capacity in particular. The initiative is also perfectly in line with France’s overall vision for 2030, which promotes innovation and industrialisation. The French Health Innovation Agency will stand alongside LFB throughout this project.”
According to Paul-François FOURNIER, Executive Director in charge of Innovation at Bpifrance: “Bpifrance is proud to be able to support LFB in its industrialization project, which will enable us to offer biotech companies an increasingly comprehensive CDMO offering in the field of therapeutic proteins. This project is a response to the growing clinical and commercial production needs of the French biotech sector. It plays a key role in accelerating the development of new innovative biopharmaceuticals in France and meets the challenges of health sovereignty.”
Jacques BROM, Chief Executive Officer of LFB, explains: “This major industrial investment will provide LFB BIOMANUFACTURING with a more flexible industrial site, so that it can meet the growing demand for biologics from pharmaceutical and biotech companies. It will also help strengthening bioproduction in France, in accordance with the “France2030” plan. We would like to thank the independent expert committee and the teams of the State-owned operator Bpifrance for selecting our industrial development project.”
Herbert GUEDEGBE, Director of the Alès industrial site and Chief Executive Officer of LFB BIOMANUFACTURING, goes on: “The new production capacities, still with single-use technologies, will allow us to offer a broader spectrum of biopharmaceutical production services to our customers, with 2,000 liters as a reference scale. This large-scale expansion in Alès, which comes on the heels of those in 2016 and 2021, reflects LFB’s strong local commitment and significant socio-economic impact in the Occitanie region of the Gard department in France, and in the Alès community in particular. This project will contribute to economic vitality at the local level, with the creation of around fifty long-term jobs by 2026.”
Biologics: a major challenge for France’s long-term health sovereignty
The health industry is undergoing a major revolution with the arrival of drugs with active ingredients produced from living organisms and based on advanced fundamental research in biotechnologies. Today, 50% of medicinal products in development are biotherapies.
The current scarcity of CDMOs in France has led national players to produce abroad, for both their clinical and commercial batches. Therefore, this expansion of the LFB BIOMANUFACTURING site in Alès is strategic in nature since it will help meeting the growing production needs of French biotechs in the field of therapeutic proteins.