Redwood City, California-based genome engineering firm Synthego broke ground on a 20K SF biomanufacturing facility in the Bay Area, part of a growing wave of cell and gene therapy firms expanding their biomanufacturing capabilities.

Other recent cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing deals include Instil Bio’s $85M new biomanufacturing site in Los Angeles; a $70M facility Astellas Pharma is opening in South San Francisco; Massachusetts-based Charles River Laboratories expanding across the pond with a new facility in Cheshire, UK; Intellia’s announcement of a new 140K SF facility in Waltham, Massachusetts; and an agreement between Fargo, North Dakota-based DNA and mRNA producer Aldevron and Inscripta.

These expansions are especially important due to a biomanufacturing bottleneck across the nation. The expansion of cell and gene therapies, which have a greater need for marrying innovation and manufacturing processes earlier in the development cycle, means more startups are seeking more manufacturing capacity earlier in their life cycles, straining an existing shortage of such plants.

The Synthego factory will come online within the year, the company said, and comes on the heels of a $200M Series E fundraising round, according to Endpoints News.

The facility will support CRISPR and gene editing tools, and much of the capacity has already been reserved by existing partners, the company said in a statement,

Specific details about the location and cost of the Synthego project haven't been made public.