Selexis invests in Geneva

In May 2017, Selexis opened a new corporate headquarters and laboratory facility that tripled its capacity to meet partner demands. The facility is located in Plan Le Ouates, a suburb of Geneva, Switzerland. A month later the biotech company was bought by JSR Corporation. Last week, Selexis announced it has made key strategic hires, signed its one hundredth commercial license agreement (CLA) and purchased and installed $2 million in new laboratory equipment.

Selexis’ investment in new equipment and employees is primarily directed towards the research and development of novel and proprietary technologies that will enable Selexis to deliver high expressing and stable research cell banks (RCBs) in eight to nine weeks from transfection (currently 14 weeks). Furthermore, the investment expands the Company’s capacity to analyze whole genomes using next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) provides Selexis partners new insights into the genome organization of any manufacturing mammalian cell line. Data from such WGS analysis can be used for safety intelligence during manufacturing campaigns, and in the near future, for regulatory submissions.

“Getting much-needed medicines into the hands of healthcare providers quickly and as safely as possible is – and has been – paramount to Selexis. Our commercial-ready mammalian cell line is helping partners worldwide achieve their objectives with the highest quality and predictability,” said Igor Fisch, PhD, Selexis chief executive officer. “The transition of Selexis into JSR’s Life Sciences division last year strengthened our ability to help our partners develop increasingly complex biotherapeutics such as bi-specific proteins, triabodies, DARPins and novel scaffolds decorated with peptides, to name a few. Additionally, the integration of Selexis with KBI Biopharma, a subsidiary of JSR, allows the production of drug substances for clinical trials in as little as nine months as compared to traditional industry timelines of 16 to 24 months.”