Emergent buys Baltimore production plant

Emergent CEO Faud El-Hibri said that its new 55,000 sqft Baltimore facility, which previously operated as a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved contract manufacturing plant, will provide a significant capacity expansion.

El-Hibri explained that: “[The plant] houses several suites capable of manufacturing multiple products at the same time,” ​adding that it also provides “the flexibility to conduct large-scale manufacturing of rPA while also producing other products in our pipeline​.”

Emergent has also purchase land surrounding the facility, paying the city some $8.2m, suggesting that expansion is a possibility.

According to Maryland newspaper the Gazette, vaccine producer Emergent plans to create up to 125 new development and manufacturing jobs at the site over the next three to five years.

In a press statement, Emergent COO Daniel Abdun-Nabi said: "The acquisition … reflects our commitment to both continually creating jobs and investing additional capital in the State of Maryland, where Emergent headquarters and one of its product development sites are located​."

Manufacturing pedigree​

Emergent’s new plant, formerly known as the MdBio BioProcessing Center, has a significant history. Constructed in 1996, the facility was first occupied by New York headquartered contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) Bio Science Contract Production (BSCP) corp.

In 2000, it was sold to New Jersey based generics manufacturer Cambrex, which operated the facility until the company’s acquisition by Swiss health care industry supplier Lonza in 2007.

The plant was taken over by the MdBio Foundation following Lonza’s decision to reduce capacity.