New player on biomanufacturing scene
revealing an initial $45 million investment in a state-of-the-art
facility.
The activities will be carried out by a new company, Cook Pharmica, which will employ around 200 people in the start-up phase.
However this could grow to a $200 million biotech manufacturing facility with up to 600 employees occupying as much as 430,000 square feet of space within a former television manufacturing plant in Bloomington, Indiana.
"We expect construction to begin within 30 to 60 days, and the construction project should be completed by mid-2005," said Cook Pharmica president Jerry Arthur.
Cook currently markets medical devices such as cardiovascular stents, but the new company will use mammalian cell fermentation to provide contract manufacturing services to the biotech drug industry.
"Our plan is to build a contract manufacturing facility that grows as demand for these products grows," Arthur said.
Following construction, the facility must undergo an extensive validation review by the US Food and Drug Administration for approximately two years before production can begin at the new company.
Funding for the facility came from local and state government agencies, and major research universities in Indiana.
