Athenex to invest $1.62bn in biotech facilities
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the expansion yesterday, which is made possible by a partnership with the SUNY Polytechnic Institute. He said: "I am proud to congratulate Athenex – which could have gone anywhere – on beginning this exciting new chapter, creating good-paying jobs and further strengthening the region's and state's economy."
Athenex will invest a minimum of $1.52 billion to create a 300,000 square foot High Pharmacy Oncology Manufacturing Facility in Dunkirk, with an additional $200m investment from the state. The facility will manufacture sterile high potency oncology drugs in a specialized, controlled environment.
The plant will also focus on manufacturing oncology pharmaceutical products which are often on the FDA's drug shortage list. According to the release, a specialized plant such as this has not been built in North America in more than 15 years.
It also added that the partnership with New York State will secure the company’s presence and growth in the state, as well as accelerating “the goal of converting investments made in medical research into long term sustainable manufacturing jobs in high tech pharmaceutical products.”
Additional plans include a major expansion of Athenex's North American headquarters at the Conventus Building in Buffalo – a formulation product development center and a pilot plant where the oncology products are perfected and refined before being produced in Dunkirk.
This expansion will involve a minimum investment of $100m from Athenex and $25m from the state, bringing the total investments to $1.62bn and $225m, respectively.
Dr. Johnson Lau, Athenex CEO and Chairman, thanked the Dr. Alain Kaloyeros at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, and added: “This collective leadership in New York is accelerating the transformation of the State's economy into a global leader of next generation manufacturing across many industries. With this partnership, millions of cancer patients around the world will benefit from the oncology drugs made in New York.”
