Growing Opportunities – The Latest Job Expansions in the Life Sciences Industry

Amidst a global pandemic, the life sciences industry is booming! BioSpace rounds up facility expansions and employment opportunities across the states and beyond.

Genentech – San Francisco, CA

Roche’s Genentech has come a long way since it started in a rented warehouse. The biotech now has city council’s approval to nearly double its San Francisco HQ building space to a massive 9 million square feet over 15 years, all on the existing 207-acre campus. Double the space also means over double the employees. Over the next two decades, the master plan looks to add as many as 12,550 new employees to their current 10,000 name payroll roster. This project will be one of the area's largest real estate developments and has Genentech on the line for potentially more than $250 million in capital investments over the length of the agreement.

Novavax – Gaithersburg, MD

Planning for the massive demand for COVID-19 vaccines, Novavax announced two deals to expand manufacturing. With a 15-year lease for a 122,000 square foot space near its Gaithersburg HQ campus, the site should be ready for use in early 2021. Novavax has committed to add at least 400 new local jobs by December 2024. The second deal was for a 9.7-acre parcel in city with plans for future growth. In addition to its COVID-19 vaccine, which is now in the final phase of clinical trials, Novavax is also working on a single combination vaccine for protecting against both COVID-19 and the flu.

Revance Therapeutics – Nashville, TN and Marlborough, MA

Moving its HQ away from the Bay, Revance just signed a lease for the top floor of the new Gulch Union office building in Nashville. The Botox-alternative company looks to hire upwards of 110 new employees by early 2022. Nashville sweetened the 12.5-year deal by waiving the rent for the first six months on the nearly 41,000 square foot space while Revance gets it up and running.

If Marlborough’s City Council votes to approve a proposed 15-year tax increment financing deal, Revance will also be expanding in Massachusetts with a new facility for commercial aseptic fill operations and R&D. City Councilor David Doucette called Revance’s proposed site a “marquee location.” With plans to hire 76 on-site, full-time employees at its new facility by 2025, Marlborough’s mayor is grateful for the expanded jobs and much-needed tax revenue amidst the current economic downturn.

Cold Chain Technologies – Lebanon, TN

With a nationwide demand for global distribution of a vaccine that requires ultra-cold storage, Cold Chain Technologies (CCT) is opening a new facility in Lebanon for distribution. The new 225,000+ square foot site is equipped to support the supply chain requirements of the COVID-19 vaccine with their single-use and reusable thermal packaging systems for scalable parcel and pallet shipments. Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner said the state is expected to receive its first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine around mid-December. The new plant will employ 262 people on a four-shift production schedule, a 3.5-day work week followed by a 3.5-day weekend.

Vibalogics – Boston, MA

German CDMO Vibalogics is investing $150 million to gain a 110,000 square foot virus and viral vector manufacturing facility in Boston. This new facility will be about four times as large as the company’s existing plant in Germany. The site should be operational by the second half of 2021, opening up 100 new jobs in the area. With a long-term focus on cancer and gene therapies for rare disease treatment, first on its agenda will be production of Johnson and Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, which uses an adenovirus vector. Manufacturing is one of the largest concerns for global distribution of vaccines in the coronavirus pandemic.

August Bioservices – Nashville, TN

Global CDMO August plans to grow with 180 more jobs in Davidson County over the next five years. With a $64 million investment in the area, the expansion will optimize clinical and commercial injectable therapies. The first phase will add high–value technologies like lyophilization and terminal sterilization to the existing facility in Nashville. Phase two will involve the construction of a new, state-of-the-art facility with multiple high-speed production lines for injectable containers – vials, IV bags and prefilled syringes. August has goals to pursue later-stage clinical development as well as commercial manufacturing opportunities as Tennessee continues to make a name for itself in the life sciences sector.

Halda Therapeutics – New Haven, CT

Yale-founded Halda is moving its HQ to New Haven’s Science Park, contributing to a growing biotech industry in the city. Halda already has Yale interns as part of the team, so this move will make it even easier for them, as well as increase job opportunities for New Haven residents. “We are huge proponents of keeping scientific and other talent in the state and specifically in New Haven,” said Scott Phillips, chief financial officer at Halda Therapeutics. “We need to find a way to give students opportunities to work at growing businesses — and that needs to include startups like us.” The move will help Halda expand its research capabilities to advance discovery of precision medicine therapies.

Lundquist Institute – Torrance, CA

Formerly known as the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, the Lundquist Institute received unanimous approval to begin development of a 15-acre biotech park as a hub for the area’s rapidly-growing bioscience industry. Targeting both established companies and early-stage biotechs, the campus will house a major medical center and research institute in addition to the biotech park. With a 55-year lease, the Lundquist Institute will oversee construction of three buildings with a total of 250,000 square feet of top-of-the-line lab, manufacturing and office space. “This is a truly momentous occasion for The Lundquist Institute, as we can now move full speed ahead on creating a campus that provides bioscience innovations a soup-to-nuts opportunity all on one 72-acre campus, from the medical center, to the research institute, to our bioscience incubator and finally, the tech park,” said David Meyer, Ph.D., President and CEO of The Lundquist Institute.

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