HOUSTON — Bionova Scientific®, a biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and subsidiary of Asahi Kasei, has opened a 10,000-square-foot plasmid DNA (pDNA) development and production facility in The Woodlands, Texas. The site will supply research-grade pDNA for the cell and gene therapy (CGT) industry, with clinical-to-commercial scale CGMP manufacturing expected to begin by the fourth quarter of 2025.
Located less than 30 miles north of Houston, the new operation expands Bionova’s capabilities beyond mammalian protein production to meet growing demand for critical starting materials in advanced therapeutics, including mRNA and viral vector-based therapies. The facility complements the company’s flagship Fremont, Calif., site, which specializes in antibody and protein manufacturing.
“Bionova added these highly sought-after pDNA capabilities in response to a persistent unmet need among the cell and gene therapy biopharma community,” said Darren Head, president and chair of Bionova. “The Woodlands provides proximity to a growing number of CGT companies and access to a rapidly expanding ecosystem here in the U.S.”
Bionova said the expansion aligns with its strategy to support next-generation therapy developers with flexible, high-quality manufacturing solutions. The move is also part of Asahi Kasei’s broader life sciences growth plan, which prioritizes investment in virus filtration, contract research testing, and CDMO services.
With the global pharmaceutical market projected to approach $3 trillion by 2033, Bionova is positioning itself to serve a wider range of biopharma customers, offering both protein-based and pDNA manufacturing to help accelerate the development and commercialization of advanced therapies.
