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Cytiva: the life sciences company opening a new factory in Cardiff
Cytiva is the life sciences leading company whose name might not be familiar to you. They are a global provider of technologies and services on a mission to advance and accelerate the development and manufacture of therapeutics.
While only having been known as Cytiva since 2020, the company has a rich heritage tracing back hundreds of years. Cytiva has been in Cardiff for over 40 years and now they are expanding.
Cytiva’s existing and additional site which will become operational later this year.
Work is underway to fit out a new factory next to their existing site. Over 250 new jobs are being filled to staff the new facility, which will make equipment used to manufacture biologic medicines including COVID-19 vaccines and cancer therapies.
40 years in Cardiff with deep expertise in genomics
For decades, those working in genomics have helped to uncover the genetic basis of disease, which in turn has helped to develop more effective and targeted medicines. Cytiva supports both established and emerging genomics companies. Their customers work on projects from proof-of-concept to scale-up and commercialisation, as well as research and diagnostic labs. Their in-house R&D teams advance the science in novel fields such as liquid biopsies and single-cell analysis.
The pandemic has shown the criticality of the industry on a whole new level. In 2020, Cytiva’s magnetic bead products made in Cardiff enabled more than 120 million COVID-19 PCR tests worldwide. The company doubled manufacturing capacity of these products to meet ongoing needs. Cytiva is investing in their diagnostic operations in Cardiff by hiring more staff and building out infrastructure to meet future anticipated growth. Cytiva’s existing and additional site which will become operational later this year.
Genomics products manufactured at Cytiva’s Cardiff site.
The site in Cardiff was established back in 1981, when it made hundreds of products per year. Since then, the site has grown both by square feet and by number of associates. Over 6,000 products each year are shipped internationally from the site.
Originally, the laboratories focussed on synthesising radiolabelled drugs or advanced intermediates containing carbon-14 and tritium (H-3). The site became the company’s principal life sciences manufacturing site when it began operations under the direction of Dr John Maynard in 1980.
When Sir William Castell became Chief Executive of the company in 1989, a new course was set to expand the product
Cytiva’s Cardiff site under construction in 1980
Cytiva’s Cardiff site today.
“It’s exciting to see our campus expand and to welcome 250 new associates to Cytiva. The fact that the business has chosen to open a new facility here as well as invest in our existing operations shows the level of confidence in the South Wales team. What we do has a critical role in Cytiva’s mission to advance and accelerate therapeutics and this is the next chapter of the site, building on our 40-year heritage.”
Dr Mike Cooper Plant Manager Cytiva Cardiff
portfolio. The focus of nuclear medicine would gradually move towards branded, innovative diagnostic and therapy products.
A benefit of the company’s long heritage in Cardiff is the links with local academic centres, a key source of scientific talent, as well as connections with industry associations such as MediWales. New factory for 2021 to make bioprocessing equipment
There is a growing global demand for biotechnology solutions – a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with sister operating company within Danaher (Cytiva’s parent company), Pall Corporation, Cytiva is investing 1.5 billion USD globally over the next two years to expand its operations to meet these needs. 36 million GBP of that is being invested in the Cardiff site, with the majority being used to fit out a new 11 000 m² facility.
At the new factory, the team will make single-use bioprocessing equipment including jumper tubing assemblies, cell bags, and ÄKTA flow kits. These products are used across the bioprocessing workflow to make biologic medicines, such as vaccines. The first product is expected to come off the assembly line this year. Since the announcement in July, the team has already made progress both in building cleanrooms in the new facility as well as hiring staff.
