Abbott opens Humira plant in Puerto Rico

US health care major Abbott Laboratories has opened a new state-of-the-art biologics manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico to support the long-term supply of its leading biologic agent, Humira (adalimumab), and other future biologics. The new facility, Abbott Biotechnology Limited, received Food and Drug Administration approval in February to commercially produce Humira for the US market.

ABL is now the main production facility for Humira, the only fully-human monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis in the USA and Europe. The drug is also approved in the USA to treat Crohn's disease.

According to Abbott, this new plant has significantly more production capacity than the other manufacturing facility for the agent, the Abbott Bioresearch Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, which will now serve as a supporting production facility for Humira and will focus on Abbott's biologics R&D portfolio.