UK chancellor Rachel Reeves has hailed the expansion of FUJIFILM Biotechnologies facilities as “a vote of confidence in the UK”. 

The Japanese company has expanded its facilities in the North East of England to support the biomanufacturing of innovative medicines and vaccines. 

The company’s expanded presence, funded through a total investment of approximately £400m ($550 million) from FUJIFILM Corporation, includes the opening of the largest single-use biopharmaceutical CDMO facility in the UK, located at the existing FUJIFILM Biotechnologies site.  

The facilities include 2,000L and 5,000L single-use bioreactors with a total capacity up to 19,000L to provide small- and mid-scale antibody manufacturing, with the flexibility to expand to support customer programmes as needed. This facility is expected to be operational in the first half of 2026.   

FUJIFIM has also opened the Bioprocess Innovation Centre UK (BIC UK), delivering a state-of-the art laboratory for both high-throughput and continuous process development capabilities.  

“This investment is a vote of confidence in the UK as one of the best places in the world to develop and manufacture cutting-edge medicines and vaccines,” Reeves said.  

“The North East is a real hub of innovation and this will support high skilled jobs, boost productivity and strengthen our life sciences supply chain in Teesside and right across the Northern Growth Corridor.”  

FUJIFILM ensuring ‘reliable medicine supply’ for patients 

FUJIFILM’s expansion will extend the company’s global manufacturing network and its capacity to develop and produce complex medicines for conditions including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and rare disorders for world-leading biopharmaceutical companies. 

The new single-use manufacturing facility will also feature the company’s SymphonX downstream processing skid, offering an all-in-one equipment design to run all downstream unit operations across multiple scales. 

“This site provides pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners with enhanced scalability, speed to market, and cross-site technology transfer, helping to ensure reliable medicine supply for patients in the UK and globally,” said Lars Petersen, President and Chief Executive Officer of FUJIFILM Biotechnologies.

“This represents the first small and mid-scale manufacturing site in our global kojoX ecosystem, which provides our partners with supply chain flexibility and agility. In leveraging kojoX across our sites, we are creating a framework where our partners can easily scale up and out from process development through clinical and commercial.”  

“This facility is not just an investment from FUJIFILM, it is a vote of confidence for the UK, showcasing the North East as a place to build and scale globally competitive capability,” added Jane Wall, Managing Director, the BioIndustry Association (BIA). 

“At BIA, we are hugely optimistic for the potential of the region, and are proud to play a role in expanding life sciences innovation throughout the UK. 

“This site delivers cutting‑edge technology, high‑value jobs and long‑term vision,  demonstrating our country’s potential to leverage its talent, scientific excellence and industrial  base to lead in advanced biomanufacturing.”