Somerset County Welcomes Cellares’ $255M Investment Expected to Create 350 Local Jobs

January 25, 2024 at 08:05 AM EST

Cellares’ New Facility Joins Somerset County’s ‘Life Sciences Hub’

Cellares, an innovative cell therapy manufacturing company, has announced a $255 million series C fundraise to launch its new location in Somerset County. The 118,000-sq. ft. manufacturing site in Bridgewater, New Jersey is expected to create up to 350 local jobs. To commemorate the opening of this facility, Cellares will host local dignitaries for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, January 29th, to celebrate its forthcoming contributions to the local economy and support for cell therapy patients in need.

“We’re excited to welcome Cellares to the life sciences hub of New Jersey,” said Somerset County Commissioner Director Shanel Y. Robinson. “These are the kinds of businesses that our economic development team is committed to bringing to Somerset County.”

Cellares is moving into 95 Corporate Drive in Bridgewater, the building formerly occupied by Pfizer. Cellares describes the new facility as a Smart Factory, and once complete, will be the second Smart Factory operated by the world’s first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO), dedicated to clinical and industrial-scale cell therapy manufacturing.

“The opening of this facility marks a tremendous milestone towards Cellares’ mission of accelerating access to life-saving cell therapies to meet total global patient demand,” said John Tomtishen, Sr. Vice President and General Manager of the Bridgewater IDMO Smart Factory. “We look forward to partnering with the state and local community to create 350 job opportunities for highly talented individuals as we bring the facility online to manufacture tens of thousands of cell therapy drug products per year.”

The facility will seamlessly integrate “advanced robotics, purpose-built technology, and interconnected software” that “will be capable of producing 40,000 cell therapy batches per year”, which is an order of magnitude greater than what is currently possible via conventional contract manufacturing and development organizations operating out of comparably sized facilities. This will ultimately enable developers to effectively scale up manufacturing so no patient on the waitlist dies while waiting for a life-saving cell therapy.

“Not only does Cellares join a thriving Life Sciences industry here, but they reinforce the fact that many of the cures needed by the world come from Somerset County,” said Jessica Paolini, Manager of Economic Development for Somerset County. “We are investing in infrastructure critical to the growth and retention of the life sciences, including a recent $3 million investment towards a new training program at Raritan Valley Community College, which will produce the talent needed by cell and gene therapy companies like Cellares.”

About Cellares

Cellares is the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) and takes an Industry 4.0 approach to mass manufacturing the living drugs of the 21st century. The company is both developing and operating integrated technologies for cell therapy manufacturing to accelerate access to life-saving cell therapies. The company’s Cell Shuttle integrates all the technologies required for the entire manufacturing process in a flexible and high-throughput platform that delivers true walk-away, end-to-end automation. Cell Shuttles will be deployed in Cellares’ Smart Factories worldwide to meet total patient demand for cell therapies at global scale. Partnering with Cellares enables academics, biotechs, and pharma companies to accelerate drug development and scale out manufacturing, lower process failure rates, lower manufacturing costs, and meet global patient demand.

The company is headquartered in South San Francisco, California with its commercial-scale IDMO Smart Factory in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The company is backed by world-class investors and has raised over $355 million in financing.

For more information about Cellares, please visit cellares.com.