Aragen to Invest $30 Million for Setting Up Bengaluru Biomanufacturing Plant

The facility, spanning 160,000 square meters, will feature process development labs, multiple GMP manufacturing suites, and supporting units including analytical and microbiology quality control labs.

Aragen, a prominent contract research development and manufacturing organisation (CRDMO) specialising in small molecules and biologics, has unveiled plans to establish a biologics manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, representing a $30 million investment.

The facility, covering approximately 160,000 square meters, will include process development labs and multiple Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) manufacturing suites, complete with supporting functions including analytical and microbiology quality control labs.

The manufacturing suites are designed to support intensified processing utilising single-use bioreactors and advanced downstream purification capabilities, catering to the rapidly expanding biologics customer base.

This facility will provide an array of integrated solutions, including process development, process validation, analytical development, pilot production, large-scale drug substance (DS) manufacturing, and stability services.

Its capabilities will encompass the development and manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), therapeutic proteins, and fusion proteins, enhancing the company's bioproduction capacity in California.

Sharing thoughts on the same, Subodh Deshmukh, CEO of Aragen Bioscience, said, " With the opening of our bio-manufacturing facility, we will empower our customers with even faster development timelines and support their full lifecycle journey from clone development to cell culture manufacturing making Aragen a 'one-stop' solution provider for large molecules."

Manni Kantipudi, CEO of Aragen Life Sciences, said building a biologics manufacturing facility in India is part of their forward integration strategy for the US-based biologics business, allowing Aragen to offer integrated Gene-to-GMP solutions to customers.

“Once this facility is commissioned, Aragen will offer a unique value proposition to our biologics customers where the early-stage discovery will be executed in our R&D labs in California, where we have access to the top scientific talent and have proximity to our customers. As the molecule advances, Aragen can tech-transfer the program to our world-class manufacturing facility in Bangalore, offering better COGS to our customers."

The process development laboratory is projected to commence operations in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, with the first manufacturing suite scheduled to open in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025.

Furthermore, the facility's design includes provisions for plasmid DNA, mRNA, cell and gene therapy, microbial manufacturing, and additional GMP manufacturing suites, ensuring scalability to meet growing demand.

Aragen, via its subsidiary Aragen Bioscience, provides a comprehensive range of in vitro and in vivo services for biologics discovery, cell line development, production, characterisation, efficacy assessment, and biologics development for human and animal health. Its research and development facilities are located in the San Francisco Bay area.

Aragen Life Sciences serves as a leading R&D and manufacturing solutions provider for the global life sciences industries. The company offers various solutions spanning the drug development continuum, advancing programs involving small and large molecules.

In a similar development, recently Bengaluru-based Leucine Rich Bio, a microbiome company, has secured an undisclosed funding in a Pre-Series A round. This funding initiative was driven by medical professionals, including gastroenterologists, oncologists, and biotech entrepreneurs.