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Medical company plans $225M investment, 274 jobs at West Chester

May 21, 2024  |  Resilience
Resilience

Journal News

 

Supporters say Resilience will revolutionize how new medicines are developed and manufactured.

 

A San Diego-based biomanufacturer has committed to creating 274 new full-time jobs after receiving a tax incentive from the state, and nearly 100 jobs are needed to be filled by this summer as it invests at least $225 million into a former pharmaceutical plant in West Chester Twp.

 

National Resilience Inc., which operates as Resilience, purchased the former AstraZeneca facility on Trade Port Drive in 2023. The company announced earlier this year it planned to redevelop the site, investing at least $225 million ― though some reports indicated it could be upwards of $229 million ― to increase the site’s drug product capacity. The FDA-licensed site currently has three high-speed fill lines for vials, cartridges and pre-filled syringes (PFS), with a fourth PFS fill line ready by 2025.

 

The development project, when it’s completed, will nearly double Resilience’s presence in West Chester Twp., said J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and CEO, and the company “can continue advancing a mission of revolutionizing the way novel medicines are developed and manufactured.”

 

“Resilience’s West Chester expansion builds additional manufacturing capacity and a more resilient supply chain, further strengthening Ohio’s life sciences sector,” he said.

 

West Chester Twp. is home to more than 3,500 companies, said township administrator Larry D. Burks. He said Resilience’s “significant investment ... will be impactful and sets the foundation for continued growth and investment in the advanced manufacturing and medical research arenas.”

 

The facility is also expanding to six device assembly and packaging suites by 2025 to meet the industry’s growing biomanufacturing demands. The FDA-licensed site has a longstanding history of supplying commercial medicines worldwide.

 

Additionally, the company is expanding its drug product capabilities at its facility in North Carolina.

 

“Strengthening our drug product manufacturing capacity across the Resilience network highlights our commitment to providing robust and scalable outsourcing options for our partners,” said Resilience CEO Rahul Singhvi. “As a highly experienced team already supporting a leading pharmaceutical company with their GLP-1 products (non-insulin medication used to treat Type 2 diabetes), this expansion further supports Resilience’s mission to ensure adequate biomanufacturing capacity by addressing and overcoming historic manufacturing challenges throughout the industry.”

 

Ohio’s Tax Incentive Authority approved a 1.9%, 10-year Job Creation Tax Credit for the project which would bring in 440 new jobs ― 274 direct hires and 166 contract positions ― while retaining 476 current jobs as the company develops the biomanufacturing site. The new direct hires — which would span roles in manufacturing, engineering, quality control, information technology and management — are collectively expected to generate nearly $18.77 million in new annual payroll while retaining more than $27.2 million.

 

A representative of the company’s marketing team told this news agency they were looking to fill 90 jobs by July 1.

 

Resilience purchased the 580,000-square-foot former AstraZeneca site on Trade Port Drive for $212 million in January 2023. The company has secured manufacturing agreements with several new customers and to deliver on the contracts, as well as continue its day-to-day operations, a significant capital investment and workforce recruitment was critical.

 

“Ohio thrives on innovation, and the environment we continue to build here is ideal for companies that want to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. “The work underway by National Resilience is vital for increasing access to advanced pharmaceuticals in the United States, and the company’s expanded facility in West Chester will not only produce a wide range of life-saving medicines, but its work will also be critical to the protection of domestic biopharmaceutical supply chains.”

 

REDI Cincinnati helped in the project, and REDI Cincinnati President and CEO Kimm Lauterbach said the new jobs added, and still to be added, support “our well-established life sciences industry, spanning nearly 1,100 business locations from startups to homegrown companies.” She said this project “further solidifies the Cincinnati region as the center of health innovation coupled with our world-class research universities and medical institutions.”

 

https://www.journal-news.com/news/medical-company-plans-225m-investment-274-jobs-at-west-chester/FHU42UCL4ZATNDHVVIRNZLIOBY/