HOLLY SPRINGS AND RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, Nov. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies expands its strategic partnership with North Carolina State University (NC State) to create future innovation opportunities through new research projects, sustainable facility design, and bioprocessing advancements at the future Holly Springs cell culture biomanufacturing site. The strategic partnership will focus areas of research and facility design to support FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 for its new $2 billion site in Holly Springs. Additionally, the strategic partnership will create opportunities for the organizations to develop new bioprocess development techniques using machine learning, artificial intelligence, and analytical methods.
This agreement builds on the existing partnership which has led to projects to promote sustainability at the Holly Springs site and strengthen FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ talent at both of its North Carolina sites.
With the Holly Springs site set to open by 2025, landscape architecture and environmental planning experts at NC State are collaborating with FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies on sustainable site development plans to achieve carbon neutrality. The future site design targets 100% clean energy utilization, implementation of cutting-edge waste disposal and recycling, among other sustainability plans.
NC State’s College of Design researchers are conducting an ecosystem services assessment to set and monitor environmental performance targets. The plan will guide the site’s sustainable development and ensure it delivers optimum benefits to the surrounding community, for example, improving wastewater treatment, and identifying the most environmentally beneficial ways to incorporate pollinators, natural learning gardens and other biodiversity features.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony held on NC State’s campus in Raleigh on November 11, 2022. NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson and Kenneth Bilenberg, vice president and Holly Springs site lead for FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies as well as other guests were present. The first project under the new agreement is expected to begin by the end of 2022
“We’ve built a strong relationship with NC State that started well before our 2021 announcement to build North America’s largest end-to-end cell culture biomanufacturing facility in Holly Springs and has already resulted in numerous improvements to achieve a facility design with sustainability at its core,” said Bilenberg. “The research agreement will enable increased collaborations with the university, and NC State has the expertise to help reach our ambitious goals for the new site not only with regard to sustainability and environmental stewardship but also as we evaluate future greenway development and manufacturing efficiency projects.”
“We are proud to partner with FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies to develop sustainability solutions,” said Chancellor Woodson. “The research agreement will strengthen collaborations, provide new opportunities to faculty and students, and will help FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies achieve their goals.”
The existing partnership has already resulted in improvements of the sustainable design of the new Holly Springs site. For example, NC State performed a pre-development assessment of biodiversity and beneficial use at the future Holly Springs site, and identified design strategies to minimize environmental impact, preserve biodiversity, and restore the habitat, which includes restoration of more than 30 acres at the site.
NC State and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies also have an existing training partnership that matches business needs with university talent and research. Already, more than 200 employees have completed advanced training through NC State’s Biotechnology Training and Education Center (BTEC).
About FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, a subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, is a world-leading contract development and manufacturing organization partner to development and manufacture of biologics, vaccines and advanced therapies. The company operates a global network with major locations in the Unites States of America, the United Kingdom and Denmark and it is building a new manufacturing site in Holly Springs, North Carolina, USA. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies has over thirty years of experience in the development and manufacturing of recombinant proteins, vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, among other large molecules, viral products and medical countermeasures expressed in a wide array of microbial, mammalian, and host/virus systems. The company offers a comprehensive list of services from cell line development using its proprietary pAVEway™ microbial and Apollo™X cell line systems to process development, analytical development, clinical and FDA-approved commercial manufacturing. Mitsubishi Corporation is a 20% shareholder of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ UK, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Watertown, Massachusetts and College Station, Texas sites. For more information, go to: www.fujifilmdiosynth.com.
About FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation
FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, leverages its depth of knowledge and proprietary core technologies to deliver Value from Innovation in our products and services in the business segments of healthcare, materials, business innovation, and imaging. Our relentless pursuit of innovation is focused on providing social value and enhancing the lives of people worldwide. Fujifilm is committed to responsible environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information about Fujifilm’s Sustainable Value Plan 2030, click here. For the year ended March 31, 2022, the company had global revenues of approximately 2.5 trillion yen (21 billion $USD at an exchange rate of 122 yen/dollar). For more information, please visit: www.fujifilmholdings.com.
About NC State
NC State is a pre-eminent teaching and research enterprise that excels across disciplines and contributes more than $6.5 billion annually to North Carolina’s economy. More than 37,000 undergraduate and graduate students learn by doing — pursuing original research, starting new companies, forging connections with top employers, and serving local and global communities. NC State’s 9,000 faculty and staff are world leaders in their fields, bridging the divide between academic disciplines and training high-caliber students to meet tomorrow’s challenges. Together, they build powerful partnerships with industry, government, nonprofits and academia to remake our world for the better. For more information, visit www.ncsu.edu.
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Christine Jackman FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation 9142614959 christine.jackman@fujifilm.com
