Stelis Biopharma Begins Construction of Multiproduct Biologics Facility at Bioxcell Biotechnology Park, Malaysia

Stelis Biopharma has announced the groundbreaking for construction of its customized, multiproduct, biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility at Bio-Xcell Biotechnology Park in Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia’s premier park and ecosystem for industrial and healthcare biotechnology.

Stelis Biopharma (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Strides Arcolab) and Bio-XCell had previously announced the signing of a Build and Lease agreement with Bio-XCell for the construction of the building and part of the equipment of Stelis Biopharma’s 140,000 sq. foot biologics facility, for a total project investment amount of RM201 million (USD 60 million).

“Stelis is pleased to commence work on its flagship biopharmaceutical facility in Malaysia. With its strong commitment to bio-economy, attractive incentives, quality infrastructure and enabling ecosystem, we are confident of making this our bio-manufacturing hub for regional and global markets” said Joe Thomas, CEO of Stelis Biopharma, on the occasion.

The construction and fit-out of the facility is expected to be completed in 24 months and commercial operations are targeted to begin mid-2017 at Bio-XCell Park. The 140,000 sq ft facility will incorporate “next-gen” single-use bio-processing technology with both mammalian and microbial manufacturing suites. When complete, it will be one of the few regulated market approvable facilities in the region with end-to-end capability including sterile fill-finish across all formats. The facility will also house an R&D unit to conduct scale-up and process development studies.

“The partnership with Stelis Biopharma to build a multiproduct biologics facility from the start, is seen as a first in Bio-XCell biotechnology Park and timely given the close working relationship over the years. We are happy to see the second biopharma project to commence in Bio-XCell Park and for the facility to ground break over an aggressive construction timeline to see its operations in 2017.It is yet another positive step forward for the park to strengthen the value proposition of the Bio-XCell ecosystem as a regional hub for industrial biomanufacturing and bioprocessing” said Rizatuddin Ramli, CEO of BioXCell Malaysia.