Regeneron is humming along on the strength of flagship eye med Eylea and fast-launching immunology drug Dupixent. Now, the drugmaker is investing $800 million in its New York operations to keep up with the growth.
Regeneron is planning a statewide expansion of its production facilities, including the third and final phase of its East Greenbush site. That project will include building a 240,000-square-foot office and lab space, 350,000 square feet of manufacturing space and a six-story parking garage, the company said.
In all, Regeneron expects to add 1,500 workers to its 2,700-employee-strong workforce spread over three sites by 2024. The East Greenbush improvements are expected to be completed in the next 30 to 36 months, according to the Albany Times Union. Incentives from New York state will fund $140 million in improvements, Regeneron said.
The second phase of the East Greenbush expansion was announced back in 2013 and included adding two 10,000-liter bioreactors to boost production capacity by 50%. The project, completed in 2014, included expanding the workforce by up to 840 employees, with $72 million spent on the plant expansion and $8 million for a new office building.
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According to the Times Union, Regeneron is already in the midst of building a 346,100-square-foot manufacturing facility at the 130-acre site and recently built a 212,300-square-foot warehouse there. In 2011, the drugmaker set aside $5 million to tack on 17,000-square-feet of space at the facility.
Regeneron’s latest expansion comes as the drugmaker posted 20% revenue growth in the second quarter on the back of Eylea and booming Dupixent.
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The most recent quarter is the first time Regeneron’s antibody partnership with Sanofi—which includes Dupixent, PCSK9 inhibitor Praluent and rheumatoid arthritis med Kevzara—has turned a profit for the drugmakers. That success is tied mostly to the strong sales performance of Dupixent, which hit $557 million in sales in the second quarter—a 166% increase.
Meanwhile, longtime blockbuster Eylea snagged $1.16 billion in sales on the quarter, a 17% increase. The drug recently won an FDA nod to treat all forms of diabetic retinopathy and another green light for a pre-filled syringe delivery option that it hopes will be a game-changer for physicians as competition steps up in the field.