ADC Bio Begins Construction of Bioconjugation Facility

ADC Biotechnology, an ADC contract services company offering conjugation technology designed to overcome process and aggregation challenges, has signed a partnership agreement with engineering specialists, WHP for the construction of a dedicated bioconjugation facility in Deeside, North Wales, UK.

In September, ADC Bio secured $11 million in funding to establish manufacturing operations for the supply of ADCs for human clinical trials. The new facilities, scheduled to be operational in September 2018, will provide much needed capacity.  
 
The design, planning and building has begun and will deliver a dual stream facility, which will occupy approximately 60% of the available 6,500m² space. This agreement will support Phase 1 of construction, which includes a facility for clinical and small-scale commercial production of ADCs. Further construction is planned January 2019 for additional large scale clinical, commercial and potential dosage form production (fill/finish).
 
Charlie Johnson, chief executive officer of ADC Bio said, “We are delighted to have forged this agreement with WHP. We specifically selected them as we found that their established reputation and industry recognition for high-quality design and construction of integrated systems and cleanroom technology – specifically within the Biotechnology sector – made them the best fit for our needs. We look forward to a long-term relationship with them as we plan ahead and increase both capacity and our down-stream capabilities to meet the sectors significant growth forecasts.”
 
Ian Lichfield, chief executive officer of WHP added, “These are exciting times for ADC Bio and WHP is thrilled to be supporting such a significant development milestone that will contribute ground-breaking solutions to human medicine. Our successful collaborations with Biotechnology companies and the wider Pharmaceuticals industry creates synergies with ADC Bio and adds value to the construction project. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with ADC Bio as the first stage of construction progresses to a second planned phase in 2019 in line with their strategy for expansion.”