Governor Kathy Hochul has celebrated the opening of a $98 million facility in Buffalo that will help advance the development of life-saving cancer treatments. The new Roswell Park GMP Engineering and Cell Manufacturing Facility is New York’s first dedicated cell and gene therapy (CGT) hub, which will support research into cutting-edge treatments for cancer, including therapies for solid tumors.
Located at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, the facility marks a major step in New York’s push to become a leader in the rapidly growing CGT sector. The state investment will create new jobs and bolster the research capabilities of Roswell Park, positioning the institution as one of the nation’s top centers for cell therapy development. The new center is expected to attract life science companies and foster partnerships with the biopharma industry.
The facility, which meets U.S. FDA Good Manufacturing Practice standards, will help streamline the process from research to the production of clinical cell therapies. The center’s expansion includes increasing the number of specialized clean rooms at Roswell’s Therapeutic Cell Production Facility from six to 20, making it the largest academic CGT research and manufacturing facility in the United States.
The investment is part of Governor Hochul’s 2023 State of the State commitment to support the CGT sector. The project is aimed at positioning New York as a hub for the development of next-generation therapies, including treatments for solid-tumor cancers, which have been more difficult to treat with current cell therapies. While existing therapies have shown success in treating blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, the new focus on solid tumors such as breast, colon, and lung cancer represents a significant breakthrough in cancer research.
Roswell Park, home to some of the pioneers in the field, has already contributed to the development of five FDA-approved cell and gene therapies. The institution’s expertise includes chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapies, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), stem cell gene engineering, and other advanced cancer treatments.
The expansion is expected to stimulate private investment, attract partnerships, and help create high-skilled jobs in the region, advancing both scientific discovery and New York’s position as a leader in the life sciences.
