The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) announced Emergent BioSolutions, a global specialty biopharmaceutical company, is expanding its Baltimore manufacturing facility on Lombard Street. The expansion is slated to potentially double the company’s 58,000 square-foot space to include additional manufacturing, quality control labs and warehouse space, and is expected to add 158 new jobs over the next four years.
The State is supporting Emergent’s expansion through a previously approved $2 million conditional loan from DBED’s Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund (MEDAAF). The loan was offered to help start this two-phase project—phase one supported the relocation and expansion of the company’s headquarters and research and development site in Gaithersburg, as well as the anticipated addition of 133 new employees.
“Emergent Biosolutions’ decision to continue to invest in our State means more jobs and more opportunities for Marylanders,” said DBED Secretary Mike Gill. “The company’s recent expansion of its headquarters in Gaithersburg combined with this expansion project is expected to create close to 300 new jobs and helps solidify Maryland’s position as a life sciences powerhouse.”
“Emergent BioSolutions’ expansion in Baltimore City is great news and underscores our commitment to biotechnology manufacturing and to our rich research and development environment,” said Baltimore Development Corporation president & CEO William H. Cole. “In 2009, BDC facilitated the sale of city-owned land to Emergent on which its facility sits; and in 2014, we assisted the company in acquiring additional property for its expansion. I am proud that BDC has played a pivotal role in Emergent’s continuing growth and in job creation for the city’s bioscience and manufacturing sectors.”
“Emergent has enjoyed considerable growth since first establishing its headquarters in Maryland over a decade ago,” said Daniel J. Abdun-Nabi, president and chief executive officer of Emergent BioSolutions. “We are pleased to continue to expand our footprint and remain committed to making Maryland one of the most vibrant life sciences hubs in the country. We thank the state and local governments for fostering economic initiatives to support companies such as Emergent in its mission of protecting and enhancing life.”
In a cost-sharing contract awarded to Emergent in 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services committed $222 million to establish Emergent’s Baltimore (Lombard Street) facility as a Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing to facilitate advanced development of medical countermeasures and provide domestic surge manufacturing capabilities to address public health threats. Recently, Emergent was one of the companies tapped by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to investigate producing ZMapp, an experimental drug for Ebola. The company also manufactures BioThrax® (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed), the only FDA-licensed vaccine for the prevention of anthrax disease.
About DBED
The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development stimulates private investment and creates jobs by attracting new businesses, encouraging the expansion and retention of existing companies, and providing workforce training and financial assistance to Maryland companies. The Department promotes the State's many economic advantages and markets local products and services at home and abroad to spur economic development and international investment, trade and tourism. Because they are major economic generators, the Department also supports the Arts, film production, sports and other special events. For more information, visit www.choosemaryland.org.
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