Selexis’ Swiss investment in mammalian cell lines

Selexis SA has announced its cell line development laboratory will open this week in Geneva, Switzerland.

The facility includes space for bioreactors for research and development (R&D) and for the production of small batches of pre- and early-clinical materials. 

The development is a response to Selexis’ partners’ needs, and will triple the company’s capacity, Selexis CEO Igor Fisch told BioPharma-Reporter.com.

“There is a large, increased demand within the industry for biologics produced from mammalian cell lines,” said Fisch.

The company expects the market for mammalian cell line development services to reach $4.5bn (€4.1bn) by 2022.

Selexis’ partners’ projects include mAbs, novel antibodies and difficult-to-express proteins targeting indications ranging from cancer to HIV to auto-immune disorders, said Fisch.

The facility will conduct work for Selexis partners including Sanofi and Xencor.

New jobs 

The facility and office space will also accommodate new employees.

“The company has grown from three to more than 30 employees in a short time, so more working space is needed to accommodate the headcount growth,” Fisch told us.

The company plans to add at least 15 additional positions in the next four years.

Selexis currently has one commercial product in oncology, two in autoimmune, and 73 biologic programs in development ranging from cancer to blood disorders.