Bristol-Myers Squibb completes land acquisition for new biologics facility

Bristol-Myers Squibb has completed the land purchase of an 89-acre site for its new large-scale multi-product bulk biologics manufacturing facility in Devens, Massachusetts.

Agreements have also been finalised related to the facility's utility infrastructure, including waste water treatment and use of electricity, water and natural gas.

Construction is expected to begin within the next few weeks, and the facility is projected to be operationally complete in 2009. The company plans to submit the site for regulatory approval in 2010.

The new Devens manufacturing facility is expected to support increased production capacity for commercially available biologic compounds, such as Orencia (abatacept), and help meet future production needs of biologic compounds currently in development, including the company's investigational treatments for solid organ transplant rejection and certain types of cancers.

Bristol-Myers Squibb currently manufactures biologic compounds in a company-owned facility in Syracuse, NY, and finishes and packages biologic compounds in Manati, Puerto Rico. It also has several partnerships with third-party manufacturers. These internal and external biologics resources remain important components of the company's overall strategy to expand its biologics portfolio.