Plasmid DNA is increasingly used as a therapeutic agent in gene therapies and certain vaccines. Its advantages, including weak immunogenicity, increased safety, and ease of manufacture have dramatically increased demand for materials and manufacturing capacity globally.

"Demand for commercial plasmid DNA is outpacing supply as the development of transformative gene therapies and vaccines accelerates globally," said Marc Casper, the company's chair, CEO, and president, in a statement.

The 67,000-sq-ft facility is located on Thermo Fisher's Carlsbad campus and the company plans to add more than 150 new jobs as manufacturing scales up. The company also recently opened a new cell therapy manufacturing facility in Princeton, NJ, and a new cryocenter in Weil am Rhein in Germany to support clinical trials.

To celebrate the opening of the Carlsbad facility, Thermo Fisher hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony with local government officials, including local U.S. Reps. Mike Levin and Scott Peters and Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall.

Thermo Fisher noted open position announcements related to the new manufacturing facility can be found at jobs.thermofisher.com.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is opening a new DNA manufacturing facility to meet growing demand for plasmid DNA-based therapies and vital mRNA-based vaccines. Image courtesy of Thermo Fisher.