King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre and Germfree Laboratories Announce Landmark Advanced Therapy Manufacturing Campus in Riyadh

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BOSTON, June 17, 2025 ~ Boston, MA - The BIO International Convention 2025 was abuzz with excitement as King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSHRC) and Germfree Laboratories, LLC announced their strategic partnership to develop Saudi Arabia's first fully integrated, modular Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) Manufacturing Campus. This groundbreaking collaboration is a critical milestone in advancing Vision 2030 and the National Biotechnology Strategy, two national initiatives aimed at transforming the Kingdom into a global hub for life sciences and biomanufacturing.

The new facility will be located at KFSHRC's main campus in Riyadh and is set to become a world-class advanced therapies campus. "This initiative marks a historic milestone, not just for our institution, but for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in alignment with Vision 2030 and the National Biotechnology Strategy," said His Excellency Dr. Majid bin Ibrahim Al Fayyadh, CEO of KFSHRC. "With Germfree as our partner, we are creating a platform that will accelerate access to transformative treatments, attract top scientific talent, and solidify Saudi Arabia's position as a global leader in biotechnology."

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The partnership between KFSHRC and Germfree reflects their shared mission to expand access to complex therapies through future-proofed infrastructure. "Together, we are building much more than a facility for Cell & Gene Therapy manufacturing," said Kevin Kyle, CEO of Germfree Laboratories. "We're building a turnkey, scalable platform for discovery and delivery of curative therapies for the people of Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, and beyond."

The project will fast-track the Kingdom's ability to manufacture cell and gene therapies locally, host international clinical trials, and attract leading pharmaceutical partnerships and scientific talent from around the world. This aligns with Saudi Arabia's National Biotechnology Strategy which aims to localize vaccine and therapeutic production, develop sovereign biomanufacturing capabilities, and establish the Kingdom as a global biotechnology leader by 2040.

The ATMP Manufacturing Campus will be delivered as a fully CGMP-compliant, off-site built, modular solution, developed in strategic phases to support immediate clinical impact and long-term growth. The first phase will involve the deployment of Germfree's BioGO® Box single-module cleanroom solution for early operator training, tech transfer, and R&D activities. Simultaneously, a newly constructed facility will be built centrally on the KFSHRC campus to house prefabricated modular cleanroom clusters, providing 16 production suites designed for multi-modal CGT production.

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The state-of-the-art facility will meet SFDA, FDA, EMA, and BMBL requirements and will include a fully integrated digital manufacturing platform designed to support smart, data-driven CGMP operations from day one. This innovative approach means that full operational readiness will be reached just 18 months after contract signing, roughly half the timeline of a conventional stick-built facility of comparable scope. This speed and flexibility to scale or repurpose suites as new therapies emerge means that Saudi patients will have access to advanced treatments years sooner than traditional construction would allow.

Germfree's continued growth is supported by EW Healthcare Partners, a leading private equity company that makes growth equity investments in fast-growing commercial-stage healthcare companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics, and technology-enabled services sectors in the United States and Europe.

With this partnership between KFSHRC and Germfree Laboratories, Saudi Arabia is not only advancing national healthcare but also setting a new global standard for innovation, scalability, and patient-centered care. The ATMP Manufacturing Campus is a testament to the Kingdom's commitment to becoming a global biotech leader by 2040.
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