New Jersey-Based Braeburn Pharma Leasing $20 Million Facility in North Carolina, Will Create 52 Jobs
March 17, 2016
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Princeton, N.J.-based Braeburn Pharmaceutical announced that it will invest almost $20 million in a new manufacturing and research plant in Durham County, N.C.
The company is leasing 35,000 square feet of laboratory and office space at Keystone Technology Park from Longfellow Real Estate Partners. Braeburn does not yet have a product to market, and describes itself as a Phase III specialty pharmaceutical company. Its focus is on developing drugs for neurological and psychiatric disorders, including addiction, pain, and schizophrenia.
On Jan. 12, 2016, Braeburn, along with its partner, South San Francisco-based Titan Pharmaceuticals , announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee (PDAC) voted in favor of approving Probuphine, the companies’ long-acting, subdermal buprenorphine implant to treat opioid addiction.
“Medication offers the best chance for people with opioid addiction to sustain recovery, but as evidenced by the moving comments from patients, physicians and advocates at today’s meeting, the few, current options are not enough to address the tremendous needs of the vast population dealing with this complex disease,” said Behshad Sheldon, Braeburn’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “Our vision is to bring change to this underserved population. We are fully committed to making a lasting impact on the way this disease is treated.”
Probuphine is a subdermal implant that delivers buprenorphine continuously for six months following a single treatment. Buprenorphine is approved for the treatment of opioid dependence, but because it is only given as a tablet or film formulations, compliance with this patient population can be a problem.
The company also has five other drugs being developed for opioid dependence, pain and schizophrenia. The FDA is scheduled to decide on Probuphine by May 27.
On Feb. 1, Braeburn announced with Montreal, Canada-based Knight Therapeutics that they had inked an agreement for Knight to commercialize Probuphine exclusively in Canada. No financial details were released, except that Knight will also handle regulatory and commercial activities for the therapy in Canada.
“We are pleased that we can be instrumental in bringing Probuphine to Canada,” said Jonathan Ross Goodman, Knight’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “Once approved by Health Canada, Probuphine will be the first product to offer treatment for opioid addiction for six months following a single treatment. This innovative product has the potential to address an important unmet need for opioid dependent patients.”
The new facility in Durham will be the home to biomanufacturing workers and research-and-development scientists. Over the next five years the facility is expected to hire 52 new jobs. The state’s governor’s office indicates that the average salary for employees of the facility will be $76,769 annually, compared to the county’s average annual wage of $66,913.
The company may also receive a grant from the One North Carolina fund if it hits various investment and job-related milestones. The N.C. Biotech Center is offering a matching grant worth $50,000. Longfellow Real Estate Partners is also offering a $50,000 matching grant, and the N.C. Community College System is offering $75,4000 for workforce training.