Immunex Spending $500 Million on New Rhode Island Plant to Produce Enbrel.

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Inc; Houston, Texas) The Immunex Corporation (NASDAQ: IMNX) (Seattle, Wash.) is set to start construction on a fourth manufacturing plant for their very profitable arthritis therapy, Enbrel.. Immunex enjoyed a third quarter 2001 net income of approximately $40 million, an increase of 26% over the same period last year. Immunex is working towards ensuring enough manufacturing capacity to support an anticipated $5 to $6 billion in Enbrelb sales over the next five years.
Dubbed the BioNext Project, the new facility is being engineered by Kvaerner Process (Bridgewater, N.J.), with Turner Construction (Dallas, Texas) handling construction management. The plant will house one of the largest bioreactors used in the industry, estimated to be 20,000 liters in capacity. There will also be a centralized utility area featuring water-for-injection (WFI), clean steam, and other central utility services.

The project is adjacent to an existing facility that is currently being retrofitted to produce Enbrel. in an agreement with Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals (Saint Davids, Penn.), another division of American Home Products Corporation (NYSE: AHP) (Madison, N.J.), which has 41% ownership of Immunex. AHP has agreed to sell Immunex the facility, which it purchased in 1999 specifically for the production of Enbrel.. The new plant is expected to employ 350 people once construction is complete in 2005.

The Immunex Corporation was founded in 1981. The biopharmaceutical company focuses on immune system science innovations, with Enbrel., their rheumatoid arthritis therapy, adding heavily to their 2000 revenues of $861.8 million and a net income of $154.4 million.