Fujifilm Diosynth Accelerates $8B+ Expansion Drive, Poised for Significant Growth in 2025

Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), is set to mark 2025 as a pivotal year in its ambitious $8 billion expansion strategy. The company's president and CEO, Lars Petersen, has outlined plans to bring major investments online and double the capacity of key facilities, signaling a robust outlook for the CDMO sector despite broader industry challenges.

Global Manufacturing Network Expansion

Fujifilm Diosynth's expansion efforts are concentrated on two major sites: Hillerød, Denmark, and Holly Springs, North Carolina. In Hillerød, the first phase of expansion has already been completed, with six new mammalian cell bioreactors added to the existing six, bringing the total to 12. The next phase, backed by a $1.6 billion investment, will introduce an additional eight bioreactors and two downstream processing streams. This expansion is expected to be fully operational by 2026, increasing the site's footprint to 51,500 square meters and creating up to 2,200 jobs.

In Holly Springs, construction is nearing completion on a facility that received an additional $1.2 billion investment in April 2024. Petersen anticipates the entire facility will open in the fall of 2025, with the number of bioreactors increasing from six to 20 within a year, effectively tripling the site's capacity.

Strategic Positioning in a Challenging Market

While the CDMO industry has faced headwinds following the COVID-19 pandemic, Fujifilm Diosynth has managed to navigate these challenges more successfully than many of its peers. Petersen attributes this resilience to the company's ongoing expansion strategy and its focus on attracting large pharmaceutical clients.

The CEO acknowledged that while the large-scale business performed well in 2024, the cell therapy area has faced struggles. In response to reduced venture capital investment in early-stage research projects, particularly in cell and gene therapies, Fujifilm Diosynth restructured its small-scale business unit in April 2024. Despite these challenges, Petersen remains committed to the cell therapy business, viewing it as a crucial part of the future of personalized medicine.

Outlook and Industry Trends

Petersen expects that by August or September 2025, approximately half of the company's $8 billion in manufacturing investments will be operational. This milestone underscores 2025 as the "biggest year" yet for Fujifilm Diosynth's expansion progress, with several additional projects in development.

The CEO also noted a shift in the pharmaceutical landscape, observing that many large pharma companies are increasingly opting to outsource manufacturing rather than invest in their own facilities. This trend has benefited Fujifilm Diosynth and other major CDMOs, helping to offset the challenges faced in the small biotech sector.

As Fujifilm Diosynth continues to execute its expansion strategy, the company remains well-positioned to capitalize on the evolving needs of the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in large-scale biologics manufacturing and emerging cell and gene therapies.