A news release from Bionova, an Asahi Kasei Group company, states the full-service biologics contract development and manufacturing organization will focus on producing starting material for cell and gene therapy, and DNA/RNA-based and recombinant protein therapeutics in the first quarter of 2025. The new venture in The Woodlands will allow the company to expand into plasmid DNA, or pDNA, production, according to the release.
The facility was granted a tax abatement by Montgomery County commissioners in May and will go before The Woodlands Township for an abatement in June, officials said. Abatements create tax exemptions from increases in property value for up to 10 years.
Several other life sciences companies, including Nurix Therapeutics and Cellipont Bioservices, have also opened new facilities in The Woodlands since 2023.
An exact location for the Bionova facility was not included in the June 3 news release.
The context
Darren Head, CEO of Bionova Scientific, said in the news release the company's goal is to help get therapeutic treatments to patients faster.
"In our traditional biologics operation, we’ve had great success helping partners overcome technical hurdles and streamlining timelines to get them into the clinic rapidly," Head said in a statement. "That requires that we not only work smarter, but that we have the physical assets needed to avoid delays. We are taking the same approach with plasmid DNA, starting with building a committed, expert team and then designing and establishing a facility that will translate to the same kinds of successes.”
According to the news release, the expansion broadens the company's portfolio to encompass more technical capabilities and types of therapies in response to a more diverse array of customer requests. The geographic location in relation to cell and gene therapy companies, or CGTs, across the U.S. and in Texas played a role in the company's selection of The Woodland for the new facility, according to the release.
Bionova Scientific is also currently expanding biologics production capacity at its Fremont, California headquarters, according to the release.
What they're saying
“As we evaluated The Woodlands as a potential home for Bionova’s new pDNA operation, the enthusiastic support of The Montgomery County Commissioners, The Woodlands Township and The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership was instrumental. We appreciate their welcoming help and look forward to a continued collaboration as we proceed forward," Head said in the news release.
“For the past few years, we’ve seen the cell and gene therapy marketplace struggle with constrained availability of high quality pDNA. In response, we have been building internal expertise and creating a thoughtful market entry plan, culminating with today’s announcement of our new Houston facility,” said James Glover, Bionova’s chief operating officer. “We are confident that, by this time next year, we will be well into the delivery of expert development services and production of high quality pDNA.”
“Bionova is driven to support our partners to bring life-saving treatments to patients. By adding pDNA to our strategic offering, we are enhancing marketplace access to critical starting material across the landscape of clinical and commercial therapeutics,” said Michelle Chen, Bionova’s senior vice president of process development and manufacturing for plasmid DNA.
