FUJIFILM Corporation announced on October 6, 2026, that it will install manufacturing equipment for linker-payloads, referred to by the company as ADC components, at the Hirono Plant located in Hirono-machi, Futaba-gun, Fukushima Prefecture. The plant is operated by a manufacturing subsidiary of FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Corporation, a Fujifilm Group company.

The investment is aimed at expanding Fujifilm's contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business in the field of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which the company describes as a next-generation biopharmaceutical modality.

Establishing Japan's First One-Stop ADC CDMO Service

With the new equipment in place, FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Corporation will provide contract process development and manufacturing services for linker-payloads.

These are ADC components consisting of a payload, such as an anticancer drug, and a linker that connects the payload to an antibody. According to the announcement, the new manufacturing equipment is scheduled to become operational in 2028.

The stated purpose of the investment is to enable the Fujifilm Group to establish what the company identifies as Japan's first one-stop ADC CDMO service. As of October 6, 2026, this claim is based on Fujifilm research using data from the Japan CDMO Association.

The one-stop service will range from manufacturing of linker-payloads to antibody manufacturing, conjugation, and drug product manufacturing.

Understanding Antibody-Drug Conjugates

Antibody-drug conjugates are pharmaceuticals that combine an antibody, which recognizes specific target cells such as cancer cells, with a payload such as an anticancer drug, connected via a linker.

When the antibody binds to a specific protein on the surface of a target cell, the ADC is taken into the cell. The payload is then released from the linker and acts on the cell.

By using the antibody to selectively deliver the payload to target cells, ADCs are expected to achieve both high therapeutic efficacy and reduced side effects. Their development as a next-generation biopharmaceutical modality is accelerating worldwide, according to Fujifilm.

The company estimates, based on data from Evaluate Pharma, that the ADC market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 21 percent from 2023 to 2032, expanding approximately fivefold from around USD 11 billion in 2023 to around USD 60 billion in 2032.

Despite this growth, ADC development and manufacturing present notable complexities. The process involves multiple stages, including linker-payload manufacturing, antibody manufacturing, conjugation, and drug product manufacturing.

Each of these stages requires advanced technologies and stringent quality control systems. As a result, many pharmaceutical companies currently work with different development and manufacturing partners for each process.

Fujifilm notes that this fragmented approach creates challenges in technology transfer, quality control, and manufacturing management of the overall supply chain.

Hirono Plant Capabilities and Expansion Plans

The Hirono Plant, where the new manufacturing equipment will be installed, already possesses several relevant capabilities.

According to the announcement, the plant has advanced organic synthesis technologies cultivated through pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing, technologies for containing highly potent substances within the manufacturing process, and rigorous quality assurance and quality control systems.

Highly potent substances are described as those that exert potent pharmacological effects even at low doses. Many drugs used as payloads in ADCs fall into this category, making containment a critical consideration in their manufacture.

By installing the new manufacturing equipment and enhancing its containment capabilities for highly potent substances, the Hirono Plant will expand its existing contract manufacturing services for linkers to include linker-payloads.

In addition, Fujifilm will establish new laboratory facilities at the site to strengthen the development of advanced manufacturing processes and analytical methods for linker-payloads with complex structures.

Details of the New Manufacturing Equipment

The new equipment will be installed at the Hirono Plant in Hirono-machi, Futaba-gun, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The installation will include manufacturing equipment for payloads and linker-payloads, comprising reaction vessels, filtration and drying equipment, and a preparative HPLC system.

Laboratory facilities for manufacturing process development and analytical method development will also be part of the expansion. Operations are scheduled to begin in 2028.

A Group-Wide One-Stop Service Structure

Fujifilm has positioned ADCs as one of the key areas of its CDMO business for next-generation biopharmaceuticals.

The company plans to leverage the technologies and manufacturing capabilities of its group companies to establish the one-stop ADC CDMO service, which will encompass manufacturing of linker-payloads, antibody manufacturing, conjugation, and drug product manufacturing.

Under this structure, the Hirono Plant will be responsible for manufacturing of linker-payloads.

The FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical facility, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2027, will handle antibody manufacturing, conjugation, and drug product manufacturing through aseptic filling and lyophilization. Conjugation, as defined in the announcement, refers to the manufacturing of ADC drug substances by conjugating linker-payloads with antibodies.

Reducing Customer Burden Across the Development Lifecycle

Through its one-stop ADC CDMO service, which will span from the research and development stage through commercial manufacturing, the Fujifilm Group states that it will help reduce customers' development and manufacturing burden, improve efficiency, and contribute to smoother ADC development and manufacturing.

The announcement positions the Hirono Plant investment as a foundational step in that strategy.

By bringing linker-payload manufacturing capability in-house at a facility already equipped with organic synthesis expertise, potent substance containment technologies, and established quality systems, Fujifilm intends to complete the chain of ADC manufacturing capabilities across its group companies, from payloads and linkers through antibodies, conjugation, and final drug product manufacturing beginning in 2028.

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