Atara Biotherapeutics, a cell immunotherapy company with two facilities in Thousand Oaks, announced its entrance into a long-term collaboration with Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Corp.
Fujifilm will acquire Atara’s 90,000-square-foot T-cell operations and manufacturing facility in Thousand Oaks for $100 million upfront under the terms of the strategic agreement. Fujifilm will offer positions to approximately 140 manufacturing and quality staff at the facility.
The companies will also engage in a long-term supply agreement that will see Atara provided with access to capabilities needed to manufacture its clinical and commercial-stage allogeneic cell therapies once the facility transaction is complete. Contract development and manufacturing organization FDB, which specializes in advanced therapies, will be the provider of those capabilities.
FDB will also expand use of the Thousand Oaks facility and leverage staff to manufacture a broader portfolio of cell therapies. Atara will still retain expertise, staff and capabilities in manufacturing process science to continue manufacturing and cell therapy operations.
The agreement is expected to reduce Atara’s planned operating expenses over the multiyear period, according to a statement.
“We believe that now is the right time for a strategic relationship with FDB to provide us with expert manufacturing capabilities, as needed,” Pascal Touchon, Atara’s chief executive, said in a statement. “Accordingly, we will further focus capital resources on the development and commercialization of our pipeline of potentially transformative therapeutics for serious diseases.”