Locus Cell Opens Smart Cell Factory in Zhubei, Deploying Waseda Humanoid Robots and Digital Twins

As cell and gene therapies (CGT) move from clinical use toward commercialization, a key bottleneck is whether aseptic processes can be standardized and scaled for mass production. Locus Cell spent about 2.5 years and more than NT$1 billion building its smart cell factory in Zhubei. The plant uses digital-twin technology and the IDMO model to strengthen Taiwan’s capacity to secure global CGT contract development and manufacturing orders.

On April 30, 2026, Locus Cell opened the 10-story Zhubei plant, which was designed to PIC/S GMP standards and is positioned as Asia’s largest automated cell-manufacturing facility. The company is also working with Japan’s Future Robotics to deploy humanoid robots developed by a Waseda University technology team in cleanrooms, where they will test environmental stability. Locus Cell also signed cooperation agreements with Germany’s Miltenyi and Australia’s Cambium Bio to expand CGT mass production and its overseas footprint.