Cellares expands European manufacturing network with Netherlands hub
Cellares, an integrated development and manufacturing organization (IDMO) focused on automated cell therapy production and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, has secured a long-term lease for a new facility in Leiden, the Netherlands, that will serve as its European headquarters and expand its global manufacturing network.
The new site, located at Leiden Bio Science Park, is intended to provide regional manufacturing capacity for European cell therapy developers, according to the company. Cellares said regional production is increasingly important for patient-specific and time-sensitive cell therapies as programs advance from clinical development toward commercial supply.
The leased facility comprises approximately 105,000 square feet of laboratory and office space. The life sciences facility is currently under construction and expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026. Following completion, Cellares plans a phased fit-out, with initial occupancy anticipated later this year.
According to the announcement, the Leiden facility is designed to support standardized, automated manufacturing processes aligned with its global operating model, allowing partners to maintain consistent production standards across regions while enabling local supply for European programs.
“Cell therapies are manufactured to order for each patient, and the work is time-sensitive, which makes on-continent capacity a practical requirement for European programs,” Cellares CEO Fabian Gerlinghaus said in a statement. “A European hub gives partners a local supply path while keeping control consistent across geographies through a single automated standard.”
The Netherlands site will build on Cellares’ existing manufacturing operations in South San Francisco and its commercial-scale facility in Bridgewater, New Jersey, as well as additional capacity under development in Japan. Together, the network is intended to support process transfer, scale-up, and consistent execution across North America, Europe, and Asia, the company said.