Abbott announced Tuesday the opening of its new $450-million biologics manufacturing facility, Abbott Biotechnology Limited (ABL), in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico to support the long-term supply of its leading biologic agent, HUMIRA (adalimumab), and other future biologics.
The state-of-the-art, 330,000-sq.-ft. facility received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in February to commercially produce HUMIRA for the U.S. market.
ABL will now be the main production facility for HUMIRA, a human monoclonal antibody for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and Crohn's disease.
The new plant has significantly more production capacity than Abbott's other manufacturing facility for HUMIRA, the Abbott Bioresearch Center (ABC) in Worcester, Mass.
Abbott also has manufacturing operations in Puerto Rico in Jayuya and Dorado, commercial operations in San Juan and a distribution center in Guaynabo, employing a total of about 2,400 people.
Abbott Laboratories, a health care company headquartered in Abbott Park, Ill., has 65,000 employees globally.