Kite Pharma, a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences, announced about the construction of its biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands in May 2018.
The plant will be used for the engineering and production of cancer cell therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapies, not only improving the company’s manufacturing capabilities but also bolstering the delivery of cell therapies to cancer patients in Europe.
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The manufacturing facility will be an addition to Kite Pharma’s manufacturing network in the US, which includes the California and Maryland sites.
The plant is expected to be fully operational by 2020, employing more than 300 people.
Kite Pharma’s biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility location
The manufacturing facility is located at the SEGRO Park Amsterdam Airport at Tufsteen 1 in Hoofddorp, North Holland province, Netherlands.
SEGRO Park is a 400,000m² flexible site developed by SEGRO, a real estate investment trust based in the UK, which can be divided into multi or single-tenant spaces for the accommodation of various types of industries including pharmaceutical, manufacturing, logistics and food and beverage.
The proximity of the facility to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the Amsterdam metropole provides an opportunity for business growth in the future. The site is also well connected by road via A4 to The Hague and Rotterdam, as well as the extended A5, which connects to the port.
Kite Pharma’s biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility details
Kite Pharma leased 117,000ft² of space in SEGRO Park from SEGRO for the development of the manufacturing plant. The facility features Grade A sustainable design and complies with the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) Excellent standard, which helps in reducing the carbon footprint for the company.
The facility is equipped with solar panels and a thermal energy storage system capable of storing heat or cold underground through an aquifer, working in the same manner for heating or cooling the warehouse, whenever needed.
The facility also features an early suppression, fast response (ESFR) sprinkler system, and sound insulation. The big-box logistics facilities at the site will offer flexibility in transporting products to the European markets.
Products to be manufactured at the new facility
Kite Pharma will manufacture its cancer immunotherapy products in the facility, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Yescarta® (axicabtagene ciloleucel).
The drug received marketing approval in the European Union in August 2018, indicated for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) in adult patients.
The drug is also being studied for the treatment of indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and first-line DLBCL.
The facility will increase the manufacturing and delivery capacity of Yescarta in the European market.
Marketing commentary on Kite Pharma
Based in California, US, Kite Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company, which focuses on the development of innovative immunotherapies in oncology.
The company was acquired by Gilead Sciences in August 2017, which resulted in the addition of the former’s CAR T and T-cell receptors (TCR) cellular therapy platforms, as well as more than 700 employees to the Gilead’s portfolio.
Kite Pharma has two research and development (R&D) centres at the Amsterdam Science Park’s Matrix Innovation Centres and has also established a distribution centre in the Netherlands.
