The new facility is the latest investment from Bayer into cell and gene therapy. Bayer has been investing hundreds of millions of dollars into its Berkeley location, recently launching a Cell Culture Technology Center and cell therapy labs.
Notably, the plant will backstop development of bemdaneprocel, which originated from Cambridge-based BlueRock.
Bayer first took a bet on the cell therapy when it took a stake in BlueRock, later agreeing to buy the rest of the company for $240 million in 2019. As it has with other acquisitions, the large pharma agreed to operate the biotech as an independent subsidiary to preserve its culture.
