Symbiosis Announces Plans to Open US Office

Scottish CMO, Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services, has announced plans to open an office in North America to meet increasing demand from US-based biotechnology companies for its vial-filling expertise. The new commercial site, which is set to be located in Cambridge, Boston, MA, will serve clients on both the East and West Coast. It will also be the base for reaching new customers in this territory. Symbiosis is currently on a recruitment drive to strengthen its US commercial team.

Increased demand for both liquid and lyophilized formulations in injectable dosage forms at Symbiosis has been driven mainly by biotech firms looking for an outsourcing partner with small-scale aseptic manufacturing capabilities to support clinical trials.

“At a macro level, demand for biologic and highly potent products is likely being driven by the increased emphasis on the development of treatments for small patient populations in the case of orphan indications, new oncology products requiring containment capabilities and novel tailored personalised medicines,” noted CEO Colin MacKay in a press statement. “Those kind of products require specific GMP manufacturing skills for the small-scale production of sterile batches for clinical trials, hence, the clear uptake in demand for what we do at Symbiosis.”

The CMO made the decision to strategically focus on the North American market after seeing a surge in funding for early stage biotech companies, which are the type of drug development companies that will seek Symbiosis’ manufacturing scale and specialist capabilities. According to MacKay, Cambridge is the epicentre of the global biotech community, and therefore, makes an ideal location for the company’s new US office.  

Over the past 12 months, Symbiosis has seen a revenue growth of 40%. Recruitment has been ongoing, with a 30% increase in staff to meet demand for its aseptic fill/finish service. 

Source: Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services