Biopharma factory developer Galaxy Life Sciences has bought a plot at an emerging biomanufacturing hub in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The deal will see Galaxy build a $50 million facility to support research, development and manufacture of biopharmaceuticals or pharmaceuticals according to the Worcester Business Development Corporation, the organization that runs the “Reactory” campus.

Galaxy CEO Mike O’Brien told us “We are talking to several tenants already and expect to have a commitment from at least one in the next month or two.”

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He added that construction will begin next month, explaining “We expect to obtain site plan permits from the City of Worcester in September and site work will begin immediately afterwards.”

O’Brien is also confident the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will not impact construction.

He told us “There are now guidelines in place for our construction manager to implement daily during the construction process and those will be followed precisely.   Contractors are still anxious for work and we have no trouble getting bids for all of the sub trades.”

The Reactory is a 46-acre campus on the former Worcester State Hospital property. It is located alongside UMass Medicine Science Park and the expanding UMass Medical School.

According to its official website the campus consists of “eight shovel-ready parcels that together can accommodate up to 470,000 square feet of top-quality manufacturing facilities.”

WuXi Biologics

The plot acquired by Galaxy is the second to be earmarked for use by a biopharmaceutical company this summer.

In May Shanghai-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Wuxi Biologics bought land.

The facility – which will be Wuxi’s first in the US – will support clinical and commercial scale manufacture and is scheduled to be operational in 2022.

Wuxi told us at the time that the facility will house approximately 8,000 L of single-use bioreactor capacity.

According to a statement on the Reactory website, Wuxi will be provided tax relief.

It said, “The City Council Economic Development Committee unanimously endorsed a 20-year tax increment financing plan for the project that would save the company roughly $11.5 million in property taxes over the life of the plan.”

US growth

Wuxi bought the Worcester site as part of a larger planned expansion in the US.

In June the CDMO signed a 10-year lease agreement for a clinical manufacturing facility in Cranbury, New Jersey.

The 66,000 square-foot plant, expected to be operational later this year, will house 6,000 L of single-use bioreactors according to Wuxi.