NEW YORK and LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 23, 2024 – Comprehensive Cell Solutions (CCS), a business unit of New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe), announced today the grand opening of its GMP facility, located on the campus of the University of Louisville Medical Center, that will bolster the company’s cell and gene manufacturing capabilities within the regional and national life sciences ecosystem. With the NYBCe President and CEO Christopher D. Hillyer, MD, CCS leadership, and local University of Louisville dignitaries all in attendance, the ribbon-cutting ceremony, facility tour, and open house symbolizes unprecedented access to end-to-end cell therapy manufacturing capabilities.
CCS’s Louisville site expansion, as well as the additional CCS facilities in Houston, Texas and New York City, propels CCS into a national CDMO equipped with sophisticated technology staffed by some of the most talented personnel in the cell therapy industry.
“Our organization has been supporting the cell therapy industry for over two decades, accelerating the supply chain throughout the continental US and serving the biopharma industry and large hospital systems with close-to-patient and close-to-donor logistics and footprint,” said Christopher Hillyer, MD. “With the opening of this facility, we’re planting a stake in the ground, expanding our footprint in a meaningful way to address a pressing clinical and commercial need for comprehensive cell and gene therapy manufacturing services.”
CCS has steadily and increasingly served biopharma companies, academic researchers, and treatment centers with trusted cell sourcing, cryopreservation, and cell therapy manufacturing services. Demand for these services has grown in the past ten years as large pharmaceutical operations have sought support in producing and commercializing advanced therapies.
“We are excited to commemorate the grand opening of Comprehensive Cell Solutions! This state-of-the-art biotech facility embodies innovation, progress, and collaboration,” said Mayor Craig Greenberg. “In conjunction with the University of Louisville’s impressive $280 million Health Sciences Simulation Center and Collaboration Hub, as well as other substantial investments in the area, Comprehensive Cell Solutions will play a role in establishing the LOUMED District as a nationally acclaimed hub for healthcare advancement, research, and cutting-edge technology.”
With GMP manufacturing capacity continuing to be constrained across the market, CCS has become a national asset for research stage companies, drug developers, pharma and the wider biotech community, providing mission-critical cell sourcing and patient apheresis, GMP manufacturing, cell cryopreservation, and streamlined logistics for the road to commercialization. Facility enhancements at the Louisville, Kentucky site include a newly constructed apheresis suite for patient and donor collections, a cell processing laboratory for minimal manipulation processes, and cell cryopreservation of intermediate products. The 20,000 sq. foot space also houses a microbiology laboratory, quality control laboratories, material management warehouse, cryopreservation storage room and two ISO 7 GMP cleanroom suites for cell therapy manufacturing, all equipped with the latest technologies. GMP manufacturing services include but are not limited to, cell isolation, volume reduction/wash, cell culture, viral transduction, final formulation, and cryopreservation. The Louisville facility encompasses CCS’s Draw-To-Thaw™ solutions by having full end-to-end capabilities under one roof.
“CCS aims to establish and build a culture of trust with clients by focusing on a true collaborative environment, a high degree of transparency, and customer service marked by a true understanding of our client’s requirements,” said Devin Blass, Senior Vice President of CCS. “From process development to commercialization, our clients can expect us to deliver high-quality products during all stages of the product life cycle.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony includes tours of CCS’s apheresis suite, GMP cleanrooms, microbiology laboratories, and cryopreservation and storage rooms, as well as brief presentations on the organization’s cell sourcing and logistics methods. University researchers, students, and local businesses are excited about the opportunities that the presence of a full end-to-end CDMO will create. In addition to bringing new biotech companies to the region, the cell therapy CDMO hopes to build further connections with hospitals and treatment centers to support more clinical trials for novel cell therapies.
“UofL is creating new knowledge, making groundbreaking discoveries and developing new technologies that save and improve lives,” said Jon Klein, interim executive vice president for research and innovation at UofL. “Partly because of this activity, Louisville is drawing attention from around the country and world. And to that end, we welcome Comprehensive Cell Solutions and New York Blood Center to campus and look forward to working with them in collaborations that improves our community’s health.”
psutherland@lifescicomms.com
