LONDON, UK, October 14, 2025 / Biotech Newswire / -- Touchlight, a pioneering leader in DNA manufacturing technologies, has been named the 2025 FOYA Category Winner for Innovation in the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Touchlight’s Morelands facility, located in an historic Victorian waterworks in Hampton, London, has been transformed into a world-class production hub for its enzymatic DNA technologies for advanced therapies.
Touchlight’s revolutionary platform addresses key and long-standing challenges associated with traditional plasmid DNA (pDNA) manufacturing, by eliminating fermentation processes and antibiotic resistance sequences while achieving greater purity and sequence flexibility. The facility’s expansion has tripled production capacity, making it the largest cell free DNA manufacturing site globally.
“The site was dormant for over 70 years before we repurposed it to become one of the largest DNA manufacturing facilities in the world” said Jonny Ohlson, Founder and Executive Chair of Touchlight. “The Victorians were brilliant at showcasing their technologies, yet this facility had been forgotten. Our thesis was that if you created the most beautiful environment, you would attract the most brilliant scientists. Genetic medicines are advancing rapidly to treat stubborn cancers and genetic diseases, and we are attracting the pioneers to the UK for their DNA requirement.”
A Facility Built for Innovation
Touchlight’s dbDNA™ platform rapidly synthesise large quantities of highly pure DNA, enabling the development of genetic medicines. Designed with flexibility and scalability in mind, the Morelands facility supports simultaneous GMP manufacturing of multiple products. As the only cell-free DNA manufacturer with eight IND/CTA filings in collaboration with its clients, Touchlight is working with pharmaceutical companies, biotechs and academics to advance therapies for unmet diseases.
Touchlight’s commitment to digital transformation has been a key driver of its success. The company implemented SAP S/4HANA Cloud to enhance operational efficiency, improve traceability, and support future expansion. This initiative earned Touchlight the Business Innovator Award in the SAP UKI Customer Success Awards 2024. Additionally, Touchlight is focused upon prioritising sustainability, integrating green manufacturing techniques that reduce water and energy consumption, including through the use of renewable energy.
“We are honoured to have been named the ISPE Facility of the Year Award Innovation Winner,” said Jonny Ohlson, Executive Chair and Founder of Touchlight. “As we look ahead to the upcoming Awards Ceremony in Charlotte, we are proud to stand alongside other leading organizations driving progress in the industry. This recognition highlights the dedication of our team and the transformative potential of our Hampton facility in shaping the future of DNA manufacturing.”
Recognising the 2025 ISPE FOYA Winners
In addition to Touchlight’s remarkable achievement, several leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to the industry in this year’s ISPE Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA). Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine received two accolades: the Operational Excellence award for its advanced automated packaging line and the Project Execution award for its expanded biomanufacturing capabilities. CSL Behring was honoured with the Pharma 4.0™ award for its groundbreaking work in scaling up plasma fractionation capacity.
Bayer Healthcare LLC was acknowledged for its impact in addressing unmet medical needs through its innovative cell therapy initiatives, while Sanofi earned the Sustainability Excellence award for its cutting-edge wastewater treatment and reuse plant. Additionally, Erbe Elektromedizin GmbH and United Therapeutics received honourable mentions for their pioneering efforts in medical technology and xenotransplantation, respectively. These remarkable projects, alongside Touchlight’s pioneering work, underscore the industry’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and advancing global healthcare.
For more information about Touchlight and its cutting-edge contributions to genetic medicine, visit http://www.touchlight.com. To learn more about the ISPE Facility of the Year Awards and see the full list of winners, visit https://ispe.org/facility-year-awards.
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Touchlight
Karen Fallen, Chief Executive Officer
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Keywords: Awards and Prizes; Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities; Nucleic Acids; DNA; Gene Editing; Technology; United Kingdom; Touchlight; Manufacturing Facility; FOYA Category Winner for Innovation; International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering; ISPE; Facility of the Year Awards; Morelands facility; Hampton, London; enzymatic DNA technologies; plasmid DNA (pDNA) manufacturing; fermentation-free process; antibiotic resistance elimination; cell-free DNA manufacturing; Jonny Ohlson; dbDNA™ platform; GMP manufacturing; genetic medicines; ISPE Facility of the Year Awards
Source: Biotech Newswire