Merck Breaks Ground on $1B Delaware Biologics Center
The project will comprise laboratory, manufacturing and warehouse capabilities
Located at Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park, the Merck Wilmington Biotech project will comprise laboratory, manufacturing and warehouse capabilities to produce next-generation biologics and therapies including potent antibody-drug conjugates using automated processes, artificial intelligence software and other new technologies.
Rendering courtesy Merck
U.S. biopharmaceutical giant Merck announced the start of construction for a $1-billion, 470,000-sq-ft biologics center of excellence in Wilmington, Del.
Officially called Merck Wilmington Biotech, the project is located on a leased site at Chestnut Run Innovation and Science Park (CRISP), a 164-acre former DuPont research center that is already home to several life science laboratories and research centers. According to Merck, the new facility will comprise laboratory, manufacturing and warehouse capabilities to produce next-generation biologics and therapies including potent antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) using automated processes, artificial intelligence software and other new technologies.
The laboratory component is expected to be fully operational by 2028, with production of investigational compounds anticipated to start by 2030, Merck says. Plans also call for future expansion at the site, including manufacturing Merck’s cancer-fighting immunotherapy drug Keytruda and other biologic products.
Jacobs is engineering contractor for the project, which earlier this year received a $30.2-million grant from Delaware’s Council of Development Finance. The company’s presentation to the agency estimated that construction would cost approximately $330 million. Another $290 million will be spent on new equipment and machinery, while $80 million will be used for other upgrades.
Merck says it plans more than $9 billion of additional investments over the next four years, including $3.5 billion in biologics and small molecule manufacturing sites and capabilities. The company recently completed construction of a $1-billion, 225,000-sq-ft vaccine production facility in Durham, N.C.
