States of Michigan and Maryland Support Company's Expansion
GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Emergent BioSolutions today announced that the Michigan Economic Development Corporation has granted BioPort Corporation's application for financial incentives associated with a planned investment of $75 million in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility on its Lansing, Michigan campus. BioPort Corporation is a subsidiary of Emergent BioSolutions. This incentive package comes on the heels of a similar investment incentive program provided to the company in late 2004 by the State of Maryland for expansion of product development and manufacturing capacity in a 150,000 sq. ft. facility in Frederick, Maryland.
"Over the past three years, we have executed a number of strategic acquisitions that have contributed significantly to our product pipeline," Fuad El-Hibri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said. "As our company continues to grow, and our products advance, we will make the essential investments in our manufacturing capability for both our commercial and biodefense product pipelines. We are pleased and grateful for the support we have received in Maryland and Michigan and we are building our business so that we have a long and prosperous future in both states."
The Lansing expansion project, once completed, is designed to allow the company to produce up to 80 million doses per year of BioThrax(R), the only FDA approved vaccine for the prevention of anthrax. The company presently produces BioThrax at its facilities in Lansing and in doing so employs more than 300 staff and professional personnel.
The company's Frederick, Maryland facility is to be used for future vaccine manufacturing capacity. Emergent has designed that facility to be a state-of-the-art production plant that will provide significant manufacturing capacity for multiple vaccine products and to employ between 300 and 400 people when operating at full capacity. Emergent holds rights to acquire an additional facility of equal size at the same site to further support its growth plans. The company currently maintains its corporate headquarters and product development operations in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
