Evotec initiates ground-breaking for new biologics facility J.POD® Toulouse, France (EU)
- J.POD® TOULOUSE, FRANCE (EU) BRINGS A DISRUPTIVE, FLEXIBLY SCALABLE BIOLOGICS MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY TO THE REGION
- THE MANUFACTURING FACILITY IS EXPECTED TO BE OPERATIONAL IN H2 2024
Hamburg, Germany, 16 September 2022:
Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809; NASDAQ: EVO) today officially launched the construction of its J.POD® biologics manufacturing facility at Evotec’s Campus Curie in Toulouse, France. J.POD® Toulouse, France (EU), the second facility of its kind and the first one on European ground, will employ Just – Evotec Biologics’ flexible J.POD® technology to deliver much-needed clinical and commercial manufacturing capacity for biologics.
Biologics are a highly effective therapeutic option with broad applicability across many indications. However, the traditional fed-batch manufacturing presents significant challenges, especially at the upscaling from clinical to commercial supply. With a modular continuous manufacturing setup, the J.POD® technology allows for highly intensified cGMP manufacturing of biologics at flexibly scalable quantities, thus reducing both scale-up risks and manufacturing costs significantly.
During a ceremony on Campus Curie, Jean-Luc Moudenc, President of Toulouse Métropole and Mayor of Toulouse, Jalil Benabdillah, Vice-President, Economy, Employment, Innovation and Reindustrialisation of the Occitania region as well as Étienne Guyot, Prefect of Haute-Garonne and Occitania, joined the management of Evotec and subsidiary company, Just – Evotec Biologics, to break ground for the new facility. J.POD® Toulouse, France (EU) is expected to be operational in H2 2024 and will create upwards of 150 new high-skill jobs on Evotec’s Campus Curie in Toulouse.
Just – Evotec Biologics opened the first facility of this kind, J.POD® Redmond, WA (US), in August 2021. The first manufacturing runs for valued partners, one of them being the U.S. Department of Defense, were initiated shortly thereafter.
Dr Craig Johnstone, Chief Operating Officer of Evotec, commented: “Today’s ground-breaking for J.POD® Toulouse, France (EU), Just – Evotec Biologics’ second J.POD® facility, marks an important milestone on our path to making biologics globally available. J.POD® is a disruptive technology that makes biologics manufacturing not only scalable, but even more importantly, available right where they are needed. We are grateful to be able to realise this project with funding from the French government, the Occitanie Region, Bpifrance, the Haute-Garonne prefecture as well as Toulouse Métropole.”
The construction of J.POD® Toulouse, France (EU) benefits from French government funding as part of the Investments for the future Programme (programme d’investissements d’avenir in French) and is also supported economically by the Occitanie Region and Toulouse Métropole.
ABOUT JUST – EVOTEC BIOLOGICS
Just – Evotec Biologics, wholly owned by Evotec SE, is a first-to-industry biologics platform company that leverages AI/ML technologies and world-leading molecular design, cell line development, process intensification and continuous manufacturing strategies to advance biotherapeutics from discovery through clinical stages to commercial launch. The Just – Evotec Biologics team combines deep industry experience in the fields of data, protein, process, and manufacturing sciences including automation with highly integrated and flexible capabilities to break through the scientific and economic barriers associated with the development of protein therapeutics. Our focus is to accelerate and expand access to biotherapeutics through scientific and technological innovation for our proprietary projects and on behalf of our partners. Learn more at www.just-evotecbiologics.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This announcement contains forward-looking statements concerning future events, including the proposed offering and listing of Evotec’s securities. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “should,” “target,” “would” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include comments regarding Evotec’s expectations for revenues, Group EBITDA and unpartnered R&D expenses. These forward-looking statements are based on the information available to, and the expectations and assumptions deemed reasonable by Evotec at the time these statements were made. No assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates, which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of Evotec. Evotec expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Evotec’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.