3 min read - 16 Feb, 2026
Fujifilm Biotechnologies opens £400m expanded Teesside facility
Fujifilm Biotechnologies, a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) for biologics, vaccines, and advanced therapies, has celebrated the opening of its expanded site in Teesside. The significantly expanded presence, funded through a total investment of approximately £400m from Fujifilm Corporation, Japan, includes the opening of the largest single-use biopharmaceutical CDMO facility in the UK, located at the existing Fujifilm Biotechnologies site.
The UK expansion represents the newest addition to its global manufacturing network and introduces 2,000 L and 5,000 L single-use bioreactors with a total capacity up to 19,000 L to provide small- and mid-scale antibody manufacturing, with the flexibility to expand to support customer programmes as needed. The 110,000 sq ft manufacturing facility will be operational in the first half of 2026.
In parallel, the opening of the Bioprocess Innovation Centre UK (BIC UK) delivers a state-of-the-art laboratory for both high-throughput and continuous process development capabilities, and will operate as a global centre of excellence for biomanufacturing innovation and process development. The 102,200 sq ft facility doubles the campus’s existing lab footprint and complements the site’s expanded Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) manufacturing capabilities.
Fujifilm Biotechnologies has celebrated the opening of its expanded £400m biomanufacturing site in Teesside / Picture: Fujifilm
Together, these investments enhance the supply chain agility of Fujifilm’s global manufacturing network and expand its capacity to develop and produce complex medicines for conditions including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and rare disorders for biopharmaceutical companies. Through the company’s pioneering kojoXTM modular approach to biomanufacturing, a strategic global initiative to harmonise technology, equipment, systems and processes, the expanded UK operations will closely align with Fujifilm’s biomanufacturing facility in Toyama, Japan, enabling rapid and seamless technology transfer capabilities.
Toshihisa Iida, director, chairman, Fujifilm Biotechnologies, said: “Over the past decade, Fujifilm has invested more than £5 billion globally to grow our CDMO business, demonstrating our steadfast commitment to increasing our production capacity and capabilities to meet the growing demand for innovative medicines and vaccines for patients around the globe. The opening of our UK expansion will enable us to support our partners’ products from the process development stage to early clinical manufacturing, ranging from low-volume therapies for ultra-rare diseases to commercial biologics, all from one site.”
As part of Fujifilm Holdings Corporation’s sustainability goals, the new manufacturing building will be fully electrified and will maximise the use of renewable energy going forward.
Lars Petersen, president and chief executive officer, Fujifilm Biotechnologies, added: “This site provides pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners with enhanced scalability, speed to market, and cross-site technology transfer, helping to ensure reliable medicine supply for patients in the UK and globally. This represents the first small and mid-scale manufacturing site in our global kojoX ecosystem, which provides our partners with supply chain flexibility and agility. In leveraging kojoX across our sites, we are creating a framework where our partners can easily scale up and out from process development through clinical and commercial.”
The UK Fujifilm Biotechnologies site has more than 960 employees working across its facilities and is part of a global workforce of 5,000 people across the Fujifilm Biotechnologies network. Overall, Fujifilm Corporation’s diversified presence in the UK employs 1,700 people nationwide, and operates across the fields of photography, print and ink, life sciences and diagnostic imaging, as a key partner and provider to the NHS.
Fujifilm Biotechnologies has academic partnerships with the University of Edinburgh, the University of Manchester, and the University of York. These form part of Fujifilm’s dedication to building talent in STEM and advanced manufacturing, supporting the life sciences ecosystem, and nurturing the next generation of life science specialists.
