Kemwell Biopharma increases capacity in process development and cGMP manufacturing of biologics to meet demand from existing and new customers

28 April 2021: The company has bolstered its process development capabilities by acquiring an Ambr® 250, a high throughput state-of-the-art equipment with 12 fully automated mini bioreactors at a 250 ml scale to accelerate process development.

Kemwell is adding three single-use bioreactors (SUBs) to support process scale-up, preclinical toxicology batch and early cGMP clinical trial supplies at 250L to 1000L scale in its current facility. 

Kemwell Biopharma, a biologics contract development and manufacturing service provider has recently augmented its existing infrastructure. As part of this expansion strategy, the company has installed Ambr® 250, high throughput equipment with 12 fully automated mini bioreactors at a 250 ml scale to accelerate process development. 

Ambr® 250 enables the setting of 12 different media conditions, temperatures and gases, helping the client projects identify the most optimal process leading to higher titer while reducing the cost per experiment and thereby enhancing in-lab productivity. In addition to Ambr® 250, 3 more 5 L scale glass bioreactors are installed and now houses a total of 12 bioreactors of 5 and 10L scale. 

The company is also looking forward to meeting the demand of its customers by expanding its manufacturing capacity further by adding three Single-Use Bioreactors (SUBs) this month. It plans to install 100L (R&D), 200L and 1000L SUBs in its existing cGMP plant to support process scale-up and preclinical toxicology batch and early clinical trial supplies., which are expected to be operational by October 2021. 

Anurag Bagaria, Chairman & CEO, Kemwell Biopharma said, “Biotechnology is one of the exceptional innovations that has emerged as a saviour and game-changer across the globe. As the world continues to witness unexpected odds like COVID-19 and other such events, it is essential for us to create novel biologics and vaccines to address the on-going challenges. Our expansion strategy is in sync with this vision of providing high quality, time and cost-effective services. At Kemwell Biopharma, we strive to produce best-in-class solutions using cutting-edge technologies and cater to the changing needs and evolving market dynamics.”

Karan Bagaria, Managing Director, Kemwell Biopharma said, “We are delighted to expand our capacities by installing new equipment with an intent to serve our customers more seamlessly than ever before. With the addition of single-use technology, we would have both traditional stainless steel (SS) and SUB technology – a hybrid biomanufacturing offering to support varied client demands.  We also look forward to augmenting our infrastructure further and add more advance analytical equipment to our existing capacity by the year-end. Not only will it help us accelerate process development, but will also empower us to cement a leading position in the market.”

With the above addition, Kemwell will have 5000L of cGMP manufacturing capacity and has a further investment plan to install an additional 12,000L of bioreactor capacity in an existing shell space of 26,000 sq ft for an investment of INR 1500 Million (USD 25 Million). Kemwell is exploring strategic partnerships with biopharma players in the ecosystem to fit out this additional capacity which can be executed within 12-15 months. The company offers proven expertise in supporting biotech companies with process development, clinical and commercial manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies, fusion proteins and other mammalian’s cell culture proteins at their state-of-the-art facilities located in Bangalore, India.

About Kemwell Biopharma Pvt. Ltd.

Kemwell is a leading biologics CDMO in Asia which provides services to global biopharmaceutical organizations for both clinical and commercial needs. Kemwell, located in Bangalore, India provides customers with high quality and cost-effective services for development and manufacturing of all mammalian cell culture-based products. Kemwell’s facilities consist of cGMP drug substance manufacturing suites with over 4000L bioreactor capacity, sterile fill and finish line for cGMP drug product manufacturing and development laboratories to support process and analytical development and production of protein therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies, bi-specific antibodies and fusion proteins. Kemwell currently manufactures commercial drug substance, drug products and has supported many programs for process development, materials for tox and clinical supplies.  For more information, please visit www.kemwellbiopharma.com 

*This story is published by VOH team*