The investment doubles the site's laboratory and warehousing capacity for upstream process development and quality control testing of gene therapy products.

"The team at our Alachua site has more than12 years of expertise developing processes, analytics and manufacturing GMP materials to help our customers with clinical development of advanced medicines for rare and complex diseases," said Chris Murphy, vice president and general manager, viral vector services at Thermo Fisher. "This investment in Alachua signifies our continued commitment to serve our gene therapy customers and their patients in need."

"Thermo Fisher's investment to expand here in Alachua highlights our reputation as a destination for the biotech industry," said Eric Godet, CEO of the Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce. "As the company continues to grow to serve their customers around the globe with medical advancements, so do the economic and workforce opportunities for our community."

The expansion is part of Thermo Fisher's $270 million 2019 investment to expand its capabilities, capacity and talent globally. This investment follows the company's recent acquisition of Brammer Bio in March 2019, a leader in viral vector manufacturing.