Biopharma firm to build R&D center in Dartmouth with 70 jobs

Updated 11 a.m., Aug. 2.

NEW YORK-BASED Tonix Pharmaceuticals in building an development center in the Dartmouth section of the New Bedford Business Park.
NEW YORK-BASED Tonix Pharmaceuticals in building an development center in the Dartmouth section of the New Bedford Business Park.

DARTMOUTH – A publicly traded clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in New York is preparing to construct a 45,000-square-foot research and manufacturing plant in the New Bedford Business Park.

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. said the building – to be constructed in a section of the business park that is located in Darmouth – will house a research and development center. It will also produce clinical-trial vaccines for infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

The company said the Advanced Development Center will employ about 70 researchers, scientists, and manufacturing and technical support staff.

Tonix purchased the property in September 2020, and a groundbreaking ceremony was scheduled to take place Tuesday morning. The company expects the facility to open in the first half of next year.

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The center will include single-use bioreactors and purification suites for the production of vaccines for clinical trials, including the capability of producing sterile vaccines in glass bottles when the center is fully operational.

“The ADC greatly enhances our internal capacity for development activities, but, even more importantly, adds a manufacturing capability for clinical trial quality vaccines,” Dr. Seth Lederman, Tonix CEO and president, said in a statement. “The initiation of construction is a significant milestone in ultimately adding to our competitive advantage in responding quickly to emerging infectious diseases utilizing our growing range of vaccine technologies and protein-based therapeutic platforms.”

The groundbreaking on Tuesday was expected to be attended by Massachusetts, Dartmouth and New Bedford officials, and U.S. Rep. William R. Keating, D-Mass.

“The South Coast is fast becoming a significant player in biotech in Massachusetts, and Tonix Pharmaceuticals’ decision to open the Advanced Development Center within the New Bedford Business Park is a positive indicator of future economic growth throughout the region,” Keating said in a statement. “Tonix Pharmaceuticals is bringing good jobs to our region, and I look forward to watching their growth as the local economy continues to benefit from increased investment on the South Coast, including in South Coast Rail. The research, development, and manufacturing planned to take place in the new ADC has the potential to improve lives all over the world, and that is something we can all be proud of.”

Tonix has offices in New Jersey, California, Montreal and Dublin, Ireland.

Correction: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect date for the groundbreaking ceremony.

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