Protein Design Labs Opens $200 Million Biopharmaceutical Plant in Minnesota

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Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Protein Design Labs Incorporated (Nasdaq:PDLI)(Fremont, California) has completed construction of its new $200 million biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. First reported by Industrialinfo.com in December of 2001, construction of the 210,000 square foot facility began two years ago.

The project is the first commercial biopharmaceutical operation of its kind in the state, and is expected to add 100 new employees to PDL's current Minnesota staff of 189. Due to an intense and lengthy validation process, the new plant is not expected to start production of monoclonal antibodies until 2007.

Comprised of laboratories, manufacturing, and office space, the majority of the building is devoted to manufacturing. A series of bioreactors will be used to manufacture the antibodies, which are derived from genetically engineered mouse cells. A wide variety of medical conditions will be targeted, ranging from asthma to cancer. PDL currently has four antibodies in clinical development for various disease indications, with a near-term emphasis on autoimmune diseases, in particular inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and cancer.

A $19.5 million contract was awarded to Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) (Greenville, South Carolina) in mid-2002 to perform design, engineering, and procurement services for the $200 million project. The city of Brooklyn Park provided up to $800,000 in tax increment financing in the form of a property tax rebate over a nine-year period to attract the plant.

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