May-2022
OmniaBio announces $90M from private investor: CCRM’s capabilities go from clinical to commercial scale
OmniaBio, a subsidiary of CCRM, has executed a strategic agreement with Medipost, a global leader in stem cell therapeutics. Medipost is acquiring an interest in OmniaBio from CCRM for cash of $30 million and is investing an additional $60 million into OmniaBio. OmniaBio will start construction at McMaster Innovation Park this summer, an overall project worth $580 million.
OmniaBio is expected to be Canada’s largest contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for the manufacture of cell and gene therapies. OmniaBio will provide pivotal/Phase III and commercial-scale manufacturing of gene-modified cells and viral vectors that is an expansion of the clinical-stage capabilities already offered by CCRM, a leader in developing and commercializing regenerative medicine-based technologies, and cell and gene therapies.
Building on CCRM’s existing expertise, OmniaBio will work with a variety of cell types, such as T cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. OmniaBio’s manufacturing platforms are customized for viral vectors, as well as autologous and allogeneic cells.
There is a manufacturing capacity issue in the cell and gene therapy industry due to the large volume of products in clinical trials, with demand outstripping CDMO availability by at least five times. In the first phase of construction, OmniaBio will build an approximately 85,000 ft2 (7,897 m2) facility, equipped with 15 clean rooms and staffed by 500 employees, which is expected to be completed in 2024. With further planned expansion, OmniaBio and CCRM combined will have more than 50 clean rooms and over 1000 employees when you include CCRM’s Centre for Cell and Vector Production at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, a partnership with UHN.
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