SwRI hosts grand opening for new 21,000-square-foot Clinical Supply Facility
New labs will support pharmaceutical development, bioengineering research
SAN ANTONIO — March 23, 2026 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) celebrated the grand opening of its new Clinical Supply Facility (CSF). The 21,000-square-foot laboratory adds dedicated suites and HEPA filtered cleanrooms to support pharmaceutical development and bioengineering research, particularly in advanced clinical supplies. The facility expands SwRI’s capability to conduct “Fill Finish” for capsules, sachets, tablets and other advanced formulations for all routes of administration. The facility will facilitate the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients, formulated products, and biologics or cell-based materials such as in vitro generated stem cells and vaccine components.
“By expanding our biomedical footprint, SwRI reinforces our role as a leader in pharmaceutical development and bioengineering in San Antonio’s dynamic biomedical community,” said Darrel Johnston, director of Pharmaceuticals and Bioengineering at SwRI. “This means faster access to clinical supplies for startups, universities and biotech companies not only in our local community but nationally and globally as well.”
The facility will streamline workflows to support everything from regenerative medicine to vaccines, small-molecule therapeutics and treatments for rare diseases. Goals for the new CSF include improved regulatory efficiency, refined quality systems and increased communication between scientists for faster turnaround times. The CSF will reduce physical bottlenecks by serving as a one-stop shop for clinical supplies. It will include 4,200 square feet of ISO-rated production space along with 2,700 square feet of analytical support laboratories. The CSF also offers controlled storage environments from room temperature conditions down to cryogenic laboratory conditions, and an on-site backup power generator to ensure uninterrupted critical operations and storage support.
“Advancing a drug substance or drug product into clinical trials requires scalable, reproducible processes, rigorous analytical control, and strict Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) compliance. The biggest challenge is maintaining quality and momentum as programs transition from research to regulated manufacturing,” said Dr. Joe McDonough, vice president of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at SwRI. “By integrating CGMP suites, clean rooms and analytical labs into a single, purpose-built space, we can not only help our clients overcome those challenges, but we can also speed up processes and improve quality.”
SwRI is home to FDA- and DEA-inspected laboratories and follows all Current Good Manufacturing Practices.
Watch a time-lapse video of the building's construction: https://bcove.video/4lEeq7z.
For more information about SwRI’s integrated pharmaceutical and bioengineering services, visit https://www.swri.org/markets/biomedical-health/pharmaceutical-development and https://www.swri.org/markets/biomedical-health/pharmaceutical-development/biochemistry-bioengineering.
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“By expanding our biomedical footprint, SwRI reinforces our role as a leader in pharmaceutical development and bioengineering in San Antonio’s dynamic biomedical community,” said Darrel Johnston, director of Pharmaceuticals and Bioengineering at SwRI. “This means faster access to clinical supplies for startups, universities and biotech companies not only in our local community but nationally and globally as well.”
The facility will streamline workflows to support everything from regenerative medicine to vaccines, small-molecule therapeutics and treatments for rare diseases. Goals for the new CSF include improved regulatory efficiency, refined quality systems and increased communication between scientists for faster turnaround times. The CSF will reduce physical bottlenecks by serving as a one-stop shop for clinical supplies. It will include 4,200 square feet of ISO-rated production space along with 2,700 square feet of analytical support laboratories. The CSF also offers controlled storage environments from room temperature conditions down to cryogenic laboratory conditions, and an on-site backup power generator to ensure uninterrupted critical operations and storage support.
“Advancing a drug substance or drug product into clinical trials requires scalable, reproducible processes, rigorous analytical control, and strict Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) compliance. The biggest challenge is maintaining quality and momentum as programs transition from research to regulated manufacturing,” said Dr. Joe McDonough, vice president of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at SwRI. “By integrating CGMP suites, clean rooms and analytical labs into a single, purpose-built space, we can not only help our clients overcome those challenges, but we can also speed up processes and improve quality.”
SwRI is home to FDA- and DEA-inspected laboratories and follows all Current Good Manufacturing Practices.
Watch a time-lapse video of the building's construction: https://bcove.video/4lEeq7z.
For more information about SwRI’s integrated pharmaceutical and bioengineering services, visit https://www.swri.org/markets/biomedical-health/pharmaceutical-development and https://www.swri.org/markets/biomedical-health/pharmaceutical-development/biochemistry-bioengineering.
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