Fujifilm Biotechnologies, argenx expand manufacturing partnership to US operations

Fujifilm Biotechnologies, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), said it has expanded its global partnership with argenx SE to include U.S. operations. As part of the agreement, Fujifilm will manufacture drug substance for efgartigimod, argenx’s monoclonal antibody fragment, at its Holly Springs, North Carolina facility beginning in 2028.

Argenx is the first announced tenant of Fujifilm’s Phase II expansion in Holly Springs, which will add eight 20,000-liter mammalian cell culture bioreactors to the site’s existing capacity. The agreement will also leverage Fujifilm’s kojoX network, which links manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, and Japan to provide flexible capacity and local supply.

“This partnership with argenx marks our first global end-to-end program in support of a customer utilizing our kojoX modular network of facilities,” Lars Petersen, president and CEO of Fujifilm Biotechnologies, said in a statement. “By expanding manufacturing in the United States, we will help to meet argenx’s global supply chain needs for efgartigimod.”

“Our expanded partnership with Fujifilm Biotechnologies at its Holly Springs site adds to our existing U.S. manufacturing footprint and further strengthens our global supply chain,” Filip Borgions, chief technology innovation officer at argenx, said in the announcement.

The Holly Springs site, which is five years and $3.2 billion in the making, will have its grand opening on Sept. 24