Stelis Biopharma, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Strides Arcolab Limited 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. feet Biologics facility, for a total project investment amount of RM201 million. ($60 million or around Rs 360 crore), the company said in a statement.
The construction and fit-out of the facility is expected to be completed in 24 months and commercial operations are targeted to begin mid-2017at Bio-XCell Park. The 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.
Stelis Biopharma (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., the Strides subsidiary constructing this facility, will manufacture and commercialise its internal and partnered pipeline of bio-pharmaceuticals as well as cater to the demand for high-quality contract manufacturing and clinical supplies.
At peak operations, the facility will employ 180 people in R&D, Manufacturing, QA/QC, Analytical and Regulatory.