ElevateBio has signed a long-term strategic collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, US, to establish a biomanufacturing centre for expediting cell and gene therapy development.

Under the 30-year deal, ElevateBio will set up its next BaseCamp process development and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) manufacturing facility in Pittsburgh.

This centre will be equipped with its supporting technologies, such as gene editing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) and cell, vector and protein engineering expertise.

In November last year, the university received a $100m award from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to establish the Pitt BioForge BioManufacturing Center at Hazelwood Green.

Under the latest agreement, the university and ElevateBio BaseCamp plan to establish the new technology-facilitated process development and GMP production facility at Pitt BioForge at Hazelwood Green to expand innovation in this region.

More than 170 permanent full-time jobs, 900 construction jobs and 360 off-site support jobs are anticipated to be generated with the construction of this facility.

Additionally, the County of Allegheny and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania contributed incentive grants to ElevateBio for supporting the deal of setting up a biomanufacturing centre.

ElevateBio chairman and CEO David Hallal said: “To realise our vision of transforming the cell and gene therapy field for decades to come, broadening our footprint across metropolitan areas is a key priority for us, and we are thrilled that the University of Pittsburgh will be home to one of our BaseCamp facilities.

“We’ve identified Pittsburgh as an ideal location to extend our BaseCamp presence as it sits at the intersection of science, technology and talent.

“We are grateful for the support of the Governor and County Executive as we bring the first-of-its-kind offering we have built at ElevateBio BaseCamp to advance the work of the entire biopharmaceutical industry.”

Cell & Gene Therapy coverage on Pharmaceutical Technology is supported by Cytiva.

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