Washington Hopes $60 Million Berlex Biopharmaceutical Plant Investment is the First of Many

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Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Berlex Laboratories LLC (Bothell, Washington), the American division of Schering AG (NYSE:SCH) (Berlin, Germany), has purchased a 16-acre site in Washington's Snohomish County, with initial plans to construct a 90,000 square foot plant. The $60 million project will be the state's first major commercial-scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant. While Washington enjoys a solid reputation as a top research location, there has not been significant activity on the manufacturing front. The state hopes the construction of the plant spurs further commercial life science investment.

Berlex filed a commercial building permit application last month in Snohomish County for the project, which will be built at 2625 162nd Street, in the Northpointe Corporate Center. The company hopes to start construction before year's end, with additional construction phases possible as demand increases. Berlex anticipates the new plant could eventually employ a total of 180 people.

The company's initial plans for the new plant are to manufacture Leukine, its human growth protein formulation. The drug is used to increase the body's white blood cell count and strength, especially in those suffering the delibating effects of chemotherapy treatments for cancer. The drug is also in advanced testing for use by those with Crohn's disease, an intestinal disorder, that impairs nearly half a billion people in the United States alone.

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