Thermo Fisher Scientific has inaugurated its Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center (ATxCC) in Carlsbad, California, marking the company's first such facility in the United States. The grand opening ceremony took place on Wednesday, April 17, 2025, establishing a specialized hub designed to accelerate the development and commercialization of cell-based immunotherapies.
The 6,000-square-foot facility aims to bridge critical gaps in the cell therapy development pipeline by supporting biotechnology, biopharmaceutical, and translational researchers with comprehensive resources for clinical and commercial process development.
"Our new Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center represents a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to deliver solutions that address critical challenges in cell therapy development," said Betty Woo, vice president of cell, gene and advanced therapies at Thermo Fisher Scientific. "By enabling access to our expertise and broad range of instrumentation, reagents, lab equipment and analytical solutions, we aim to help our customers overcome manufacturing hurdles and accelerate their path to commercialization."
Strategic Expansion in Cell Therapy Support
The Carlsbad center joins Thermo Fisher's existing collaboration facilities in Singapore and Korea, with plans to open another center in Philadelphia later in 2025. This strategic expansion reflects the company's response to the rapidly growing cell therapy market, which reached $6.75 billion in 2025 and is projected to expand to approximately $48.54 billion by 2034.
Cell therapy involves transferring specific cell types into patients to treat or prevent diseases, with over 40 FDA-approved therapies currently available for conditions including multiple myeloma and cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy. Notable examples include treatments like Carvykti and Skysona.
Addressing Manufacturing Challenges
Despite the promising therapeutic potential, cell therapy developers face significant challenges in scaling production from research to clinical application. Live cells are inherently complex, with critical quality attributes that often vary between products and can be difficult to define consistently.
The new collaboration center addresses these challenges by providing developers with access to:
- Advanced laboratory equipment and analytical solutions, including technologies not yet available to the broader market
- Specialized scientific and engineering support for optimizing manufacturing processes
- Guidance on transitioning to Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) standards
- Ongoing regulatory, quality, and partnership management assistance
Facilitating cGMP Compliance
A central focus of the ATxCC is helping developers navigate the transition to cGMP manufacturing—a critical requirement for FDA approval. These regulations ensure proper design, monitoring, and control of manufacturing processes and facilities, guaranteeing the identity, strength, quality, and purity of therapeutic products.
The center enables developers to work directly with Thermo Fisher's experts to create comprehensive, end-to-end manufacturing workflows that can scale effectively from clinical trials to commercial production. This collaborative approach helps address go-to-market obstacles that often delay promising therapies from reaching patients.
Industry Impact and Future Outlook
By fostering collaboration between Thermo Fisher's technology portfolio and cell therapy innovators, the ATxCC aims to accelerate the development timeline for novel treatments. Developers will benefit from early access to cutting-edge technologies that can streamline manufacturing, reduce contamination risks, and enhance product consistency.
The establishment of this center comes at a critical time when the cell therapy field is experiencing rapid growth but continues to face significant manufacturing and scalability challenges. Through this initiative, Thermo Fisher Scientific is positioning itself as a key enabler in the advancement of cell-based immunotherapies, ultimately working toward improved patient outcomes through innovative therapeutic solutions.
