OmniaBio Opens New Facility in Canada to Advance Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing
Canadian CDMO, OmniaBio, has opened a new commercial manufacturing facility in Hamilton, Ontario, making it Canada's largest dedicated cell and gene therapy site. The commercially-ready facility will utilize AI and automation to deliver comprehensive services from process, analytical and associated AI development, through to commercial manufacturing for their global clients.
The company said the facility will be crucial in helping biotech's to deliver life-saving treatments, with its first client being MEDIPOST’s stem cell therapy, CARTISTEM®, used for treating knee cartilage defects.
OmniaBio Inc. announces the opening of a new North American cell and gene therapy (CGT) manufacturing and artificial intelligence (AI) centre of excellence, which is now Canada’s largest contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) facility dedicated to CGT. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, the facility is a groundbreaking development for both the Canadian biotech industry and the broader global market.
This commercial-ready facility will enhance the manufacturing of these transformative therapies, further establishing Canada as a hub for innovation, while increasing access and affordability to advanced medical treatments across North America. Initially founded by Canada’s Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) and later joined, in partnership, by MEDIPOST, Co., Ltd., OmniaBio deploys over a decade of manufacturing and analytical technology expertise, developed through Canadian, U.S. and international partnerships.
OmniaBio will collaborate with pharmaceutical and biotech companies and academic centres to deliver comprehensive services from process, analytical and associated AI development to commercial manufacturing.
The new facility’s first commercial-stage customer, MEDIPOST, is a recognized innovator in stem cell therapeutics and has plans to manufacture CARTISTEM® at OmniaBio’s Hamilton site for North American patients. CARTISTEM is an allogeneic (sourced from donor cells) umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cell product used to treat knee cartilage defects in patients with osteoarthritis caused by degeneration.
The new 120,000 sq. ft. site, located at McMaster Innovation Park and in close proximity to the U.S. border and Canada’s largest international airport, is designed to meet specialized needs such as critical cold chain logistics, dedicated staff training infrastructure, intelligently designed production flows, and a multi-modality layout facilitating both cell and vector-focused manufacturing. Using advanced technologies such as robotics, biosensors and machine learning, OmniaBio will be among the first CDMOs globally to integrate these capabilities into its service offering, helping to reduce costs, improve product quality and increase production rates compared to conventional CDMO approaches. OmniaBio’s AI-enabled manufacturing will first focus on cellular immunotherapies and iPSC-based therapies.
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