Insight

Novo Nordisk Foundation Cellerator - major expansion of Danish capabilities in bringing cell therapies to patients

Insight

Novo Nordisk Foundation Cellerator - major expansion of Danish capabilities in bringing cell therapies to patients

The Novo Nordisk Foundation has officially announced a major investment that fills a critical gap in moving promising breakthrough cell therapy candidates from the lab and into clinical trials, with the potential for major impacts on health systems and patients. 

When

the next generation of treatment

Cell therapies involve the transplantation of living cells into patients to treat diseases and represent a next generation of treatment options, offering potential cures for conditions that are currently difficult to manage. Promising research is one step closer to reality with the addition of this new capability in the Danish ecosystem. The development of new cell therapies has so far lacked a facility that can ensure the transition from initial successful proof-of-concept studies in animals to the final development and at scale GMP manufacturing of cell therapies for use in clinical studies. 

“This is a critical milestone in the evolution of the Danish pharma and biotech sector. With the addition of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Cellerator, we see Denmark as a major hub for development of new cell therapies. This new infrastructure will unlock the promising research done in universities and hospitals, here in Denmark and across the world. Invest in Denmark will be proactively supporting this development by connecting promising research and startup ecosystems internationally with the opportunity to scale up and manufacture here in Denmark.” 

Vanessa Vega Saenz

Director, Invest in Denmark

the first of its kind

The Novo Nordisk Foundation has granted up to DKK 950 million (EUR 127 million) for the new facility. The facility will support several cell therapy types and offer a range of services, from process development to GMP manufacturing, product release and regulatory support. There will be built-in flexibility with regard to therapy types and services in order to respond to changing demands in a field that is developing rapidly. 

While a few hospitals in Denmark already have small-scale facilities for manufacturing cell therapy products, the Novo Nordisk Foundation Cellerator will be the first large-scale production site and the first to gather such a broad range of expertise and services under one roof.

 
“Cell therapies have the potential to take us from treating or managing the symptoms of chronic diseases to treating the disease itself, or even curing it with a one-off procedure. We’ve seen major advances in the laboratory in recent years, but many promising cell therapy candidates face difficulties reaching clinical trials, partly because we can’t currently develop cell therapy products in large, consistent quantities here in Denmark. I’m thrilled to be heading an initiative that will change this and provide hope to people living with chronic diseases.”

Thomas H.R. Carlsen

CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Cellerator

The facility will be located at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in Lyngby. This will allow the Cellerator to tap into a pipeline of trained professionals but also to collaborate on developing customised training models to help update the capabilities of the facility as the technology evolves.  

Novo Nordisk Foundation Cellerator facility
Illustration of the facility building on Lyngby Campus developed during the conceptual design phase. Credit: Tegnestuen Kontekst ApS.
“The Cellerator is more than a facility. It will serve as a knowledge hub, building upon the existing expertise and infrastructure in biopharma manufacturing present in one of the world leading universities for biotechnology. It will allow students and researchers to stay up to date on current developments in the field while allowing the manufacturing site to tap into our advanced research community to optimize scaleup and manufacturing and to proactively address needs in terms of skills and training. The field is evolving rapidly and we need a close partnership between academia and industry to drive development.”

Bjørn Voldborg

Head of the National Biologics Facility, Director Cell Line and Protein Production Facility

Proactive Recruitment of international partners to drive the development of cell therapies

The Cellerator facility will serve public and private, national and international clients from academia, biotech and the pharmaceutical industry. Invest in Denmark will be proactively working to facilitate contact with the Cellerator on behalf of international stakeholders. 



Construction is expected to begin in summer 2024, with the facility operational in 2027. The addition of the Cellerator to the Danish ecosystem will position Denmark as a major hub in the global race to move into clinical trials for promising therapies. 


 
 “Invest in Denmark has been actively engaging researchers and biotech startups in addition to our ongoing dialogue with the global pharmaceutical industry. There is a consensus that a missing link has been preventing progress in the development of cell therapies. The addition of the Cellerator facility fills this gap and moves Denmark into the position of being a major hub for cell therapy development and manufacturing. We will be working closely with the Novo Nordisk Foundation and our global network to move promising lab research into clinical trials."

Christian Malherbe

Investment Manager, Invest in Denmark

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