Cellares Establishes European Headquarters with New Smart Factory in the Netherlands
Cellares, the world’s first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO), has announced that it has secured a site and signed a long-term lease for a new IDMO smart factory at the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP) in the Netherlands. The agreement was completed with Dura Vermeer Commercieel Vastgoed and marks a major step in expanding Cellares’ global manufacturing footprint. The new facility will serve as the company’s European headquarters and strengthen its regional manufacturing capabilities.
Addressing the Regional Needs of Cell Therapy Manufacturing
Cell therapy manufacturing is inherently patient-specific and time-sensitive, making proximity to patients and clinical sites a critical factor as therapies advance from development to commercialization. With this new European center, Cellares aims to provide drug developers in Europe with localized access to advanced, automated manufacturing infrastructure. At the same time, the company will maintain a unified production standard across all its global facilities, ensuring consistency, quality, and scalability.
Facility Details and Development Timeline
The leased space includes approximately 9,741 square meters (around 105,000 square feet of LFA) of laboratory and office facilities located within the Nexus building in Leiden. This newly constructed life sciences facility is currently under development and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2026. Once the site is handed over, Cellares plans to carry out a phased fit-out to prepare the facility for full operations, with occupancy expected by the end of 2026.
Strategic Importance of a European Manufacturing Hub
“Cell therapies are developed on demand for each patient, and the work is urgent, making availability on the continent a practical requirement for European programs,” said Fabian Gerlinghaus, co-founder and CEO of Cellares. He emphasized that establishing a European hub allows partners to benefit from a local supply route while maintaining centralized control and consistency through a single automated manufacturing standard across all regions.
Advanced Automation to Support Global and Regional Programs
The Leiden smart factory is designed to support automated cell therapy production for both European and international partners, covering regional clinical trials as well as commercial supply planning. Upon completion and equipment installation, the facility is expected to deploy Cellares’ fully automated Cell Shuttle™ manufacturing platforms alongside the Cell Q™ quality control systems. These technologies will enable optimized process transfer, consistent execution, and seamless integration across Cellares’ international IDMO network spanning North America, Asia, and Europe.
Strengthening Leiden Bio Science Park’s Role in Advanced Therapies
Cellares’ decision to locate its European headquarters at LBSP underscores the park’s growing importance in advanced therapy manufacturing. “This choice demonstrates that LBSP plays a key role in supporting the transition of advanced therapy companies toward standardized, industrial-scale manufacturing,” said Stijn van de Sande, Director at Dura Vermeer Commercieel Vastgoed. He added that Dura Vermeer will work closely with Cellares during the retrofit phase to ensure the facility meets the specific requirements of its automated manufacturing model.
Integrated into a Growing Global IDMO Network
The Netherlands facility is modeled on Cellares’ commercial-scale IDMO smart factory in Bridgewater, New Jersey, as well as its original production operations in South San Francisco. Additional smart manufacturing capacity is also under development in Japan. Together, these facilities are designed to enable rapid scale-up, reliable process transfer, and consistent production standards, ultimately expanding global patient access to cell therapies. CBRE serves as Cellares’ international real estate advisor.
About Cellares
Cellares is the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) to provide end-to-end cell therapy development and manufacturing services using an Industry 4.0 approach. The company helps biopharmaceutical partners develop, scale, and commercialize cell therapies with the capacity, reliability, and cost efficiency required to meet growing patient demand.
Cellares’ fully automated platforms—Cell Shuttle™ for end-to-end manufacturing and Cell Q™ for in-process and out-of-process quality control—are deployed across its global network of IDMO smart factories. These technologies deliver industry-leading economics, higher process success rates, and the ability to produce up to ten times more cell therapy batches than traditional CDMOs with comparable footprint and staffing, resulting in significantly lower manufacturing costs.
Headquartered in South San Francisco, California, Cellares operates its first commercial-scale smart factory in Bridgewater, New Jersey, with additional facilities under construction in Europe and Japan. Through its expanding international network, the company is uniquely positioned to support both clinical and commercial programs and to broaden access to life-saving cell therapies worldwide.
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