SMITHFIELD – Rubius Therapeutics Inc., the Cambridge, Mass.-based company recently approved by the R.I. Commerce Corp. for up to $9 million in incentives to occupy and invest in a manufacturing site in Rhode Island, announced it has signed a purchase and sale agreement with Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. for a 135,000-square-foot facility in Smithfield at 100 Technology Way.
The purchase price of the building was $8 million, according to an SEC filing Wednesday, but is subject to adjustment, per terms of the deal. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter 2018.
Alexion announced the closure of the Smithfield plant in September as part of a company-wide restructure. The company had broken ground on a $200 million expansion of the facility in July 2016.
“The acquisition of the Rhode Island manufacturing facility is a critical step toward making the promise of Red Cell Therapeutics a reality,” said Dr. Pablo J. Cagnoni, CEO of Rubius, in a statement. “We believe that by owning our manufacturing capabilities and controlling our supply chain, we will be prepared to scale up manufacturing of clinical and potentially commercial supply of our novel therapies. In addition, we look forward to our continued partnership with [Gov. Gina M.] Raimondo and the R.I. Commerce Corp. as we build a sustainable high-performing team from the talent pool in the Providence region that will allow us to work towards bringing important new medicines to patients.”
The company said that it plans on renovating the site to contain multiple manufacturing suites, which would allow it to operate manufacturing operations in current good manufacturing compliance. The first phase of renovations is expected to be completed in roughly two years.
The plant will employee about 150 people, the company said, and it intends to invest $95 million by 2020 and up to $155 million in a five year-plus window.
Rubius Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing cellular therapies. It recently held a initial public offering that grossed approximately $277.3 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. Based on the IPO, the company has been estimated to be worth about $2 billion.
“Rubius’ investment in Rhode Island and our highly-skilled workforce is more great news for our state,” stated Raimondo. “Creating more jobs to support a vibrant economy and ensuring opportunity for all Rhode Islanders continues to be my top priority. We are excited to welcome Rubius to Rhode Island’s growing life sciences ecosystem.”
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
