Bristol-Myers pumps about $250 million into biologics facility expansion

Just a few days after announcing the closure of its biotech subsidiary Amylin facility in California (The Pharma Letter April 5), US drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE; BMY) announced plans for an around $250 million expansion of its large-scale biologics manufacturing facility in Devens, Massachusetts.

The expansion will introduce biologics development and clinical trial manufacturing capabilities to the site, while adding approximately 350 employees to the Devens workforce over time.

“Biologics are increasingly important in the treatment of serious diseases and are a growing part of our company’s pipeline of potential new therapies,” said Lou Schmukler, president, global manufacturing and supply, at B-MS, adding: “This initiative is designed to accelerate the development of new biologics medicines through the closer alignment of biologics research and development, and manufacturing.”