Cellipont Bioservices, a cell therapy contract development and manufacturing organization, began construction Nov. 10 for its new 76,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for cell therapies and gene-modified cell therapies in The Woodlands, according to a news release. A groundbreaking event was attended by more than 100 people, including state and local government officials, members of the community and other industry organizations, according to the release.

Deborah Wild, CEO of Cellipont Bioservices, said in a statement the location will meet the company's strategic and support needs.

“After months of planning and evaluation, we announced this summer our plans to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility here in The Woodlands," Wild said. "We chose the Greater Houston area because it provides us a strategic location to serve patients and clinical sites across the U.S. with two major airports, great universities and a strong local workforce. We specifically selected The Woodlands because of the support from local officials, the excellent schools and surroundings for our employees, and the network of local educational support.”

The Cellipont building will be in the Research Forest area at 9501 Lakeside Blvd., The Woodlands, and is owned by Vitrian, a real estate investor focused on biomanufacturing, according to the release.

The construction of the the new facility will be conducted in several phases, with the first phase scheduled to begin operation in the first half of 2023, according to the release. Cellipont is headquartered near San Diego, and it will move its headquarters to The Woodlands after completion, according to the release.

www.cellipont.com