Orchard Expects to Hire 100, Expands Gene Therapy Manufacturing in Bay Area

Orchard Therapeutics is expanding its physical footprint in California. The U.K.-based company signed a long-term lease to build out a gene therapy manufacturing facility in Fremont, Calif. The 150,000-square-foot facility will add to the company’s presence in the Bay Area. In its announcement this morning, Orchard said it plans to begin construction on the new site in 2019. Over the next few years, the company will hire more than 100 full-time employees to support in-house manufacturing efforts at the facility. The new site will complement existing facilities in Foster City and Menlo Park, which oversee the ongoing development and validation of the manufacture of Orchard’s ex vivo gene therapy product candidates. The new 150,000 square-foot facilities will provide Orchard with significant additional CGMP manufacturing capacity for both lentiviral vector and cryopreserved cell therapy products. The company said space will enhance its ability to manufacture and deliver gene-corrected hematopoietic stem cells for a wide range of diseases. While Orchard is expanding its own in-house manufacturing, the company said it plans to maintain “its close collaborations” with existing contract manufacturing partners.