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.”
ABOUT NEW YORK BLOOD CENTER ENTERPRISES:
Founded in 1964, New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe) provides
blood and stem cell products and related medical and consultative
services. Since inception, NYBCe has been committed to areas of
health and humanitarian causes with a global lifesaving impact.
NYBCe is at the forefront of leading innovative research in
hematology, blood banking, transfusion medicine, infectious
diseases, and cellular therapies. NYBCe has also advanced numerous
groundbreaking innovations in clinical care and biotechnology with
patented disruptive technologies that are adopted globally.
ABOUT COMPREHENSIVE CELL SOLUTIONS (CCS):
Founded in 2003 as a business unit of New York Blood Center
Enterprises, CCS offers its deep expertise in the development and
manufacture of cell and gene therapies using its GMP and GTP
facilities. CCS provides a true vein-to-vein solution, spanning
fresh cellular collections and cord blood-derived stem cells as
source material, to cell isolation, manipulation, and
cryopreservation capabilities for preclinical to commercial stage
products. CCS boasts a client roster comprised of the world’s
leading pharmaceutical companies, innovative biotechnology
organizations and academic medical centers. CCS’s manufacturing
headquarters are located in New York City, where it also performs
cellular collections and clinical apheresis. Cell collection suites
and apheresis services are also based in Providence, RI, Kansas
City, MO and St. Paul, MN.
Media Contacts:
Jonathan Pappasjpappas@lifescicomms.com(857) 205-4403
Princess Sutherlandpsutherland@lifescicomms.com