Following that triumph, OXB remained at the forefront of industry excellence. When the pandemic struck in 2020, the company seized the opportunity to partner with AstraZeneca for large-scale commercial manufacture of the Covid-19 vaccine,\u00a0subsequently\u00a0producing over 100 million doses. This success further strengthened OXB\u2019s reputation as a leading expert in viral vector development and manufacturing, and, two years later, saw it transform into an international organization. The company soon\u00a0acquired\u00a0a site in Bedford, Massachusetts, to focus on AAV development, and then an\u00a0additional\u00a0two sites in Lyon and Strasbourg, France. Not only did these global facilities augment OXB\u2019s global presence, but also expanded its\u00a0expertise\u00a0in other viral vectors, further driving its goal to be vector-agnostic in supporting all its clients\u2019 needs, from its established\u00a0LentiVectorTM\u00a0Platform to its\u00a0InAAVateTM\u00a0(AAV) Platform and beyond.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a result, the company made a strategic shift from being a development company to\u00a0operating\u00a0as a full CDMO and, in turn, rebranded from its original name \u2013 Mark Caswell, Site Head of UK Operations at OXB, joins Manufacturing Today to dive deeper into the company\u2019s strategic growth and the factors driving its operations. He begins our conversation by sharing insight into the acquisition of OXB\u2019s two French sites back in 2024 and how they further expanded the company\u2019s GMP manufacturing capabilities in Europe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe acquisition of these two sites was focused around supplying the European markets amidst all the Brexit changes coming into effect. Additionally, the existing\u00a0expertise\u00a0that these sites held in terms of other viral vectors further supported a vector-agnostic approach,\u201d he explains. \u201cThey\u2019ve also given us the unique ability to scale commercial production, unlocking continued growth and new opportunities for us in France.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Moving on to OXB\u2019s US expansion, Mark shares an exciting development: \u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0recently\u00a0purchased\u00a0a second facility in the US to further expand our commercial footprint and support our clients. A lot of our clients are based in the US, and so we wanted to address some of their concerns surrounding tariffs and being able to manufacture in their own market. The new US facility is one of the ways that\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0been able to give our clients some relative assurance alongside growing our commercial\u00a0footprint there as our client base grows. Our Bedford site can produce pre-clinical, phase I and Phase II material for clinical trials, but we just lacked that commercial production capability because of the rigor associated with commercial versus clinical activities that the site\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0yet set up for. As we looked to bring that capability to the US, it made good economic sense to\u00a0purchase\u00a0a facility that was already FDA approved and could\u00a0facilitate\u00a0clients\u2019 speed to commercialization much faster.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The new site in reference is in Durham, North Carolina and, in conjunction with OXB\u2019s Bedford site, takes the company\u2019s square footage in the country to a combined 217,000, with Bedford now focused on process development and Durham focused on GMP Manufacturing. The new Durham facility encompasses two\u00a0state-of-the-art\u00a0vector substance suites, and one vector product suite, with a further expansion-ready GMP suite. This expansion is representative of OXB\u2019s continued investment in both its clients and its overall operational efficiency, allowing the organization to provide a greater scope of end-to-end viral vector capabilities and deliver more flexible solutions worldwide.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFrom an R&D perspective, we are a quality and innovation-led company.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0really focused on what our clients are really looking for and how we can produce a quality vector in a quality format. We have our own innovation department within the organization that focuses solely on\u00a0cutting-edge\u00a0technology and applying it internally for different endpoints, evaluating how we can make our process more robust and streamlined and boost our productivity,\u201d Mark elucidates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFrom that perspective, we look at various parts across the industry to see what we can\u00a0leverage, whilst also attending several industry conferences where we can see what technologies exist out there, not merely equipment but also in AI and other software platforms.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0looking to bring further automation into our manufacturing operations; that will\u00a0facilitate\u00a0real-time data acquisition for our clients to allow them to do more continuous process verification and ensure that their product performs as they expect it to.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By championing a collaborative and data-driven approach, OXB can\u00a0leverage\u00a0its technical\u00a0expertise\u00a0and 30+ years of analytical data to ensure that its clients are able to take their products from clinical manufacturing to commercial production, whilst adhering to regulatory demands. From the\u00a0initial\u00a0construct and plasmid design to process development, cGMP manufacturing, CMC support, and automated and semi-automated fill finishes, OXB is proud to provide a fully integrated scope of services that offer its clients a competitive advantage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne of our key advantages, especially in our viral vector platforms, is that we have over 30 years of experience that our clients can\u00a0leverage, not only in the data that we have for our platforms but also in regulatory experience.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0now\u00a0utilizing\u00a0that platform data to support future clients\u2019 progress; by taking both a scientific and risk-based approach to our client programs, we can accelerate their time to market and decrease their need to invest in\u00a0additional\u00a0operations,\u201d Mark says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBecause we are an international company,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0able to\u00a0leverage\u00a0expertise\u00a0across the board. Our goal is to be vector-agnostic across the organization\u2019s global sites, and we have\u00a0Centers\u00a0of Excellence across our geographies; the UK is our\u00a0Center\u00a0of Excellence for Lenti, the US for AAV, and then France for many of the other vectors we work with. We can do development work for Lenti in all three of our geographies, and will expand\u00a0this model for other vectors, which means that\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0able to support clients with fast-track programs.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As gene and cell therapy treatments continue to boom across the biomedical sector, OXB\u2019s work on viral vector platforms\u00a0remains\u00a0more important than ever. By\u00a0maintaining\u00a0its focus on innovation, quality excellence, and client centricity, the company will continue to champion its\u00a0high standards\u00a0of safety, reliability, cost-effectiveness, and quality, both presently and in the decades to come.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFollowing the recent acquisition of our new site in Durham, North Carolina, a key priority for us is to continue our focus on integration, getting all parts of the site aligned with the OXB ways of working. We want our different vectors to be implemented across the organization so that our clients have complete flexibility to choose where they would like their products to be manufactured,\u201d Mark reveals, optimistic for OXB\u2019s future ahead. \u201cIn the next five years, I see the company being the world-leading viral vector CDMO, and we are now very well positioned to capitalize on the wave of expected cell and gene therapy approvals, with our scalable, state-of-the-art facilities that will allow us to continue to expand across our sites and meet growing client demands. Having a dedicated team that focuses on\u00a0nothing\u00a0but innovation speaks to our commitment to deliver best-in-class solutions to our clients, and we strive to stay at the pinnacle of the market as we move into the future.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/manufacturing-today.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/12\/OXB-243-body-image.jpg\")
Oxford Biomedica \u2013 to OXB. Now, having successfully rebranded and distinguished itself as a global viral vector CDMO powerhouse in cell and gene therapy, OXB is embracing its new integrated brand identity and scaling its operations to new heights. As the company\u00a0proceeds\u00a0to grow and prosper, it\u00a0remains\u00a0focused on its international expansion, particularly in the US, as it continues to be a strategic partner of choice for some of the world\u2019s greatest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n