SOFIE Breaks Ground on 30,000 Sq Ft Theranostic Center of Excellence

TOTOWA, N.J., June 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SOFIE Inc. (SOFIE), a Theranostics company headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, expands its footprint in Totowa, NJ. The acquired space is being used for the construction of a new Radiopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Center of Excellence (COE). This development follows the completion of a strategic transaction in early 2019 with the divestiture of SOFIE's contract manufacturing facility in Somerset, NJ. The new facility is designed to be suitable for efficient manufacturing of multiple therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for numerous customers at a significantly larger scale than the previous Somerset facility. It will be fully US and EU compliant to service pre-clinical, clinical, and commercial products. This facility is an integral part of SOFIE's strategic goal of becoming the leading contract development and manufacturing partner for radiopharmaceutical companies worldwide. It also represents a significant capital investment in the growth of the company.

The new manufacturing center has been collaboratively designed and is under construction by IPS-Integrated Project Services, LLC, (IPS), a leading global provider of design, engineering, procurement, construction management, and validation ("EPCMV") services for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. IPS provided full turnkey services including site selection, preliminary design through procurement, construction, and CQV activities, and the identification of modular delivery strategies to meet SOFIE's cost and schedule objectives. The facility, located adjacent to an existing 10,000 square foot SOFIE diagnostic manufacturing site in Totowa, will be approximately 20,000 square feet (including the mechanical mezzanine and finished rooftop spaces), approximately 2,700 square feet of which will be GMP manufacturing space. The GMP space will include four cleanrooms containing isolators and hoods suitable for aseptic manufacturing to support a variety of processes, isotopes, and production scales. Another room currently designated for solution prep, sterility, and other support can readily be converted to a fifth cleanroom. The facility will be entirely self-sufficient, containing QC, R&D, and microbiology laboratories, as well as receiving, GMP storage, shipping, and other support areas. The facility is designed to be further expandable, doubling the current footprint of cleanrooms.

"IPS is excited to provide EPCMV services for the expansion of SOFIE's contract manufacturing capabilities," said IPS President and Managing Director - Americas Mark Butler. "SOFIE's mission of delivering innovative radiopharmaceutical products in a state of art facility aligns well with IPS' mission of providing services for client's which deliver life-impacting products worldwide."

"Together, the two Totowa, NJ sites will total 30,000 square feet of premier radiopharmaceutical manufacturing space to support the needs of SOFIE's pharma partners, as well forward looking for in-house theranostics. We're excited to more fully support the burgeoning field of radioisotope-based therapeutics and diagnostics with this new facility," said Melissa Moore, SOFIE's Chief Technology Officer. SOFIE's Chief Revenue Officer, Philipp Czernin, added, "The Center of Excellence is a crucial piece to our growth strategy, specifically around providing access for clinical trials of our recently acquired IP." COE Project Manager and Sr. Director of QA Glenn Jennings said, "When completed, this site will offer our partners access to world-class development services and unparalleled radiopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in a globally compliant facility."

The facility includes many modular components already under design and fabrication, with construction efforts scheduled to reach full deployment by June 24, 2019, and targeted for completion before the end of 2019.

About SOFIE

The early vision for molecular imaging was to revolutionize clinical diagnostics and therapeutics to better understand and treat the biology of disease. Today, SOFIE brings that vision to life by increasing the adoption and application diversity of theranostics by reducing the cost and complexity traditionally associated with the technology. With a full line of imaging and radiochemistry systems and a premier radiopharmacy network and contract manufacturing organization to supply novel agents for diagnosis and therapy, SOFIE is dedicated to improving patient health. For more information, please visit https://sofie.com or contact info@sofie.com.

About IPS-Integrated Project Services, LLC

IPS is a global leader in developing innovative business solutions for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Through operational expertise and industry-leading knowledge, skill and passion, IPS provides consulting, architecture, engineering, construction management, and compliance services that allow clients to create and manufacture life-impacting products around the world. Headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania in the United States, IPS is one of the fastest-growing companies servicing the life sciences industry with over 1,200 professionals in the United States, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Singapore, China, and India. For more information about IPS, please visit www.ipsdb.com.

Web Site: https://sofie.com

All Topics