GeneFab Secures $18 Million in Additional Funding, bringing total Series A Fundraise to $50 Million, and Expands Leadership Team with Appointment of Drew Johnston as President & COO and Vadim Eristavi as Chief Quality Officer
Alameda, CA — July 15, 2026 — GeneFab, a contract, research, development, and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) focused on advancing next-generation genetic medicines, has secured additional growth equity of $18 million led by a Taiwanese strategic investor consortium, with participation from existing investor Celadon Partners. The additional growth equity brings the total Series A round to $50 million. The funding will support GeneFab's continued platform development, operational scale-up, global commercialization efforts, and strengthening of the company's Asia Pacific presence in Taiwan. In conjunction with the funding, GeneFab is announcing the expansion of its executive leadership team with the appointment of Drew Johnston as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Vadim Eristavi as Chief Quality Officer.
"GeneFab is growing our cGMP capabilities, driving innovation in synthetic biology, and reinforcing our dedication to client success. We are excited to welcome our new investors from Taiwan, many of whom are industry leaders in the Asia Pacific region. We believe the Asia Pacific market is important to the exponential growth of global innovative medicines in the next decade, and with our strategic partners from Taiwan we expect strong synergies and complementary service offerings between our sites in the U.S. and Taiwan," said Philip Lee, PhD, Chief Executive Officer. "As we enter our next phase of growth, expanding our leadership team is critical. Drew and Vadim bring deep operational expertise, strategic insight, and proven leadership that will be instrumental as we scale the company."
As President and COO of GeneFab, Drew Johnston will lead commercial and technical operations with a focus on delivering reliability, scalability, and excellence for GeneFab's clients. He will partner closely with the executive team to ensure operational execution consistently supports client needs, accelerates service development, and aligns with GeneFab's mission and roadmap for long-term value creation.
Johnston brings 30 years of experience in biopharma manufacturing, with a strong track record of building and scaling high-performing teams, optimizing operations, and leading through critical growth stages. Prior to joining GeneFab, he held senior leadership positions at Bayer Pharmaceuticals, where he played key roles in the transition to advance therapies and establishing cell therapy production capabilities.
"I'm excited to join GeneFab at such a pivotal moment," said Johnston. "The company's technology has the potential to make a meaningful impact delivering cell therapies and gene therapies to patients, and I look forward to working alongside this talented team to scale operations, execute on our strategy, and deliver long-term value for our stakeholders."
As Chief Quality Officer at GeneFab, Vadim Victor Eristavi brings nearly 30 years of leadership experience in Quality Assurance and Quality Control within the biopharmaceutical industry. Throughout his career, he has led quality organizations across large pharmaceutical companies, mid-sized CDMOs, and global manufacturing networks, supporting clinical and commercial operations, regulatory inspections, technology transfers, and commercialization initiatives.
Before joining GeneFab, Vadim served as Vice President of Quality at a mid-sized CDMO, where he led quality initiatives supporting both early- and late-phase clinical manufacturing programs. Earlier in his career, while serving as Global External Quality Emerging Markets Lead at Roche / Genentech, he played a key role in successful product launches, technology and method transfers, and in-licensing activities across Roche's global commercial supplier network.
The newly secured funding and leadership appointment underscores GeneFab's growth momentum as it continues to build a world-class organization focused on innovation, execution, and scientific and medical impact.
About GeneFab
GeneFab is a contract research, development, and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) founded in 2023 to advance cGMP-compliant cell and gene therapies. Guided by a vision to make innovative genetic medicines available for all, GeneFab partners with innovators to design, develop, and manufacture transformative therapies using an integrated technology platform spanning synthetic biology, in vivo vectors, and autologous and allogenic ex vivo cell therapy production. From its California facilities, the company combines cutting-edge science with operational excellence to enable safe, scalable end-to-end delivery of next-generation therapies.
For more information, visit www.genefab.com