Back at the beginning of 2015, Deerfield Management co-led a $10 million Series C for a private gene therapy startup, reshaping the company and bringing in new leaders to pave way for an IPO just a year later.
Fast forward four more years and the startup, AveXis, is now a subsidiary of Novartis marketing the second-ever gene therapy to be approved in the US. For its part, Deerfield has also grown more comfortable and ambitious about the nascent field. And the investment firm is now putting down its biggest bet yet: a $1.1 billion contract development and manufacturing facility to produce everything one needs for cell and gene therapy — faster and better than how it’s currently done. Deerfield is building its new Center for Breakthrough Medicines at a former GlaxoSmithKline campus at King of Prussia, PA, now run by The Discovery Labs. Spanning 680,000 square feet, the site will consist of somewhere between 75 to 100 suites spread around 26 interconnected buildings.
For further information, see Endpoint News (https://endpts.com/deerfield-vaults-to-the-top-of-cell-and-gene-therapy-cdmo-game-with-1-1b-facility-at-philadelphias-newest-biopharma-hub/)
