A Connecticut drugmaker has acquired a Smithfield plant, vacated in 2004 by Dow Chemical Co., to produce a medication to treat an acquired genetic blood disorder.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Cheshire, revealed Thursday morning that it had purchased the biopharmaceutical plant, at 100 Technology Way. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. CB Richard Ellis-New England’s Providence office represented Dow.
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The 57,676-square-foot facility has been vacant since Dow’s subsidiary Dowpharma moved the work it was doing there to the West Coast.
Alexion, a biotechnology company focused on treatments for severe diseases, including blood disorders, cancer and autoimmune disorders, said the Smithfield facility will be used primarily to make Soliris, a drug designed to treat “paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria,” a genetic blood disorder. The company said it plans to retrofit the facility and begin manufacturing there in 2008.
“For the past ten years, Rhode Island has built an expertise in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, which is one of the reasons this site was particularly appealing to us,” Alexion President and Chief Operating Officer David Keiser said in a news release.
“The facility is highly suitable to our needs,” he added, “and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation has worked closely with us. We are pleased to be part of the expanding life science community now in Rhode Island as well as in Connecticut.”
Gov. Donald L. Carcieri said the move “will provide an immediate impact on the Rhode Island economy,” with the company starting operations here with about 80 employees.
R.I. Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano, D-North Providence, said in a separate news release that Keiser had told him that Rhode Island was selected in part because of the new tax credit aimed at attracting the biomanufacturing industry.
Keiser “indicated to me that the company intends to take advantage of the new tax credits, for the benefit of both the company and Rhode Island,” Montalbano said.
“The growing success of these few companies in this specialized industry has a multiplier effect,” he added, “because it creates a work force that is skilled for this particular industry, which in turn attracts more companies. Our goal is to make Rhode Island an epicenter for biotechnology the way we once were for manufacturing.”
