ThermoGenesis Holdings Inc. said Monday that it is expanding its cellular manufacturing capabilities with a new, 35,500-square-foot manufacturing facility in Rancho Cordova.
ThermoGenesis (Nasdaq: THMO), which is based in Rancho Cordova, develops cell and gene therapies and products that isolate cells and different components of blood.
Now the company is developing a new cell therapy manufacturing division, called TG Biosynthesis, as part of a licensing agreement with its affiliate company, China-based Boyalife Genomics Tianjin Ltd.
The company will also build out the Center for Excellence in Cellular Manufacturing, which will provide contract manufacturing services for cell therapies, including CAR-T cell therapies, a promising cancer treatment that is made from the patient’s own blood cells that are reengineered in a lab to better target cancer cells.
“We’re excited to see ThermoGenesis deepen their roots in Greater Sacramento,” said Greater Sacramento Economic Council CEO Barry Broome, in a news release. “Their 35-year commitment to the region is a testament to our transformation into a world-class life science community. We look forward to ThermoGenesis’ continued growth and success here.”
Cell gene therapy, which primarily uses patient’s cells to create drugs, is a fast-growing field in health care treatment. The first phase of the Aggie Square biotech hub in Sacramento is also expected to be primarily focused on bringing cell therapy research to the market.
However, the field is being hindered due to low manufacturing efficiency, a shortage of manufacturing capacity and high production costs, according to the news release.
"ThermoGenesis aspires to leverage our 35 years of innovative history and knowledge to build a competitive advantage in cellular manufacturing for cell gene therapies, which we envision will become a major part of the future of medicine,” ThermoGenesis CEO Chris Xu said, in the news release. “We believe this new center will facilitate the development of more innovative cellular drugs, serving the needs of future drug developers and patients, and bringing more innovations into the health care field.”
The exact cost of the project was not released, although it is being described as a multimillion-dollar facility. The release said the facility is expected to create more than 100 jobs and generate more than $500 million in new revenue over the next 10 years.
The exact location of the new facility was also not released by the company. However, the release states that ThermoGenesis recently entered into a lease agreement with another affiliate company, Z3 Investments LLC, for the facility space.
According to real estate data service Reonomy, Z3 Investments owns a 35,473-square-foot office building at 2890 Kilgore Road in Rancho Cordova. It purchased the property in February for $2.8 million.
ThermoGenesis representatives did not immediately respond to a message seeking additional details.
