bluebird bio opens $80 million gene and cell therapy manufacturing facility

25 March 2019

US biotech firm bluebird bio (Nasdaq: BLUE) on Friday officially opened its first wholly-owned manufacturing facility in Durham, North Carolina, that will produce lentiviral vector for the company’s investigational gene and cell therapies, including: bb2121 and bb21217 for the treatment of multiple myeloma and potentially LentiGlobin for the treatment of transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT) and sickle cell disease.

Analysts think bb2121 could gain approval by 2020 and hit peak sales of $5 billion, leading a crowded CAR-T field in the disease. LentiGlobin worldwide revenues could exceed $800m in worldwide revenue in TDT.

Currently, bluebird employs around 50 scientists, engineers, manufacturing and operations personnel at the facility and is on track to grow to about 70 employees by the end of 2019.

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