Bionova to Open pDNA Development and Production Facility in Texas
The location of the facility has been purposefully chosen to be as central as possible to cell and gene therapy companies located across the U.S. and will allow the company to meet growing demand for pDNA development and manufacturing services.
Full-service biologics CDMO, Bionova Scientific, is opening a state-of-the-art plasmid DNA (pDNA) development and production facility in The Woodlands, Texas, USA, to support growing demand from the biopharma market. The new 10,000 sq. ft. facility, located less than 30 miles north of Houston, was announced by Bionova in an Aug. 12, 2025 press release (1).
Through the new Texas-based facility, which will be used for the design, development, and manufacture of research-grade pDNA materials to support the cell and gene therapy (CGT) field, Bionova will expand its service offerings. The company has revealed that with this expansion, it will move beyond mammalian protein production and will be able to provide clinical to commercial-scale current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) production of pDNA by the end of the year (Q4 2025).
“Bionova added these highly sought-after pDNA capabilities in response to a persistent unmet need among the cell and gene therapy biopharma community. Completing this specialized facility on schedule is not only a milestone for our team, but a crucial step in ensuring our customers receive the reliable, timely support they need to meet their own deadlines,” commented Darren Head, President and Chair of Bionova, in the company press release (1). “We chose The Woodlands because of its proximity to a growing number of CGT companies, and its location provides Bionova with access to the rapidly expanding CGT ecosystem here in the U.S. By aligning our capabilities with the needs of the CGT sector, we look forward to building lasting partnerships that accelerate the industry.”
The initial plans for the facility were announced in June 2024, when the company revealed that the location of the new facility was purposefully chosen to be close to CGT companies located across the U.S. (2).
“For the past few years, we’ve seen the cell and gene therapy marketplace struggle with constrained availability of high quality pDNA. In response, we have been building internal expertise and creating a thoughtful market entry plan, culminating with today’s announcement of our new Houston facility,” remarked James Glover, Bionova’s Chief Operating Officer, in a company press release (2). “We are confident that by this time next year, we will be well into the delivery of expert development services and production of high quality pDNA.”
“Bionova is driven to support our partners to bring life-saving treatments to patients. By adding pDNA to our strategic offering, we are enhancing marketplace access to critical starting material across the landscape of clinical and commercial therapeutics,” added Michelle Chen, Bionova’s Senior Vice President of Process Development and Manufacturing for Plasmid DNA, in the press release (2).
Bionova was founded in 2014 and was acquired by global conglomerate, Asahi Kasei, in 2022. Since the acquisition, the company has been operating as a subsidiary of Asahi Kasei.
References
Bionova Scientific. Bionova Scientific Opens New pDNA Facility in Texas to Support Rapidly Growing Biopharma Industry. Press Release, Aug. 12, 2025.
Bionova Scientific. Bionova Scientific Announces Plans for New Plasmid DNA GMP Facility. Press Release, June 3, 2024.