Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced on Thursday that it purchased the former Dow Chemical manufacturing facility in Smithfield, R.I., and plans to use it for the production of Soliris, a treatment for the blood disorder Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria.
The biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility is 55,000 square feet and will be retrofitted with two 10,000 liter bioreactors with purification suites and a pilot plant. It will meet Food and Drug Administration, as well as European Medical Agency, manufacturing standards and is expected to be operational in 2008.
“Securing a manufacturing facility is an important element of our commercial planning for the post-launch growth of Soliris and will enable us to meet world-wide demand for the product,” said President and COO of Alexion, David Keiser.
Alexion is a biotechnology company based in Cheshire, CT.