AGC Biologics’ has purchased a state-of-the-art commercial biopharmaceutical facility in Boulder, CO. The facility, formerly owned by AstraZeneca, will provide AGC Biologics with additional commercial-scale manufacturing capacity for its biopharmaceutical CDMO business when it enters operation in April 2021, more than 18 months sooner than a new-build facility.
 
AGC Biologics worked with International Process Plants (IPP), a global buyer and seller of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities and equipment, on the deal. The two began working together in mid-2019 on a quest to purchase an existing state-of-the-art biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in order to significantly shorten capacity expansion lead time and CAPEX as compared with a new greenfield facility. Using IPP’s over 40 years of experience and 160,000 global contacts across the manufacturing industry, IPP located the facility and advised AGC Biologics on its purchase of the idled AstraZeneca Boulder plant.
 
“The addition of this Boulder facility supports AGC Biologics’ company-wide expansion initiative, which demonstrates our dedication to support our customers’ demand for mammalian projects, now and into the future,” said says Patricio Massera, chief executive officer, AGC Biologics. “This facility will enable us to continue to advance the development, manufacturing and commercial functions within our dynamic global company.”
 
Ron Gale, president, IPP, said, “IPP acted as the buyer’s exclusive agent for AGC Biologics in their purchase from AstraZeneca. We are glad to be working with AGC Biologics and wish them success for future operations at the site. At the core of our business, we create win-win scenarios for companies looking to exit an asset, companies looking to expand, and communities looking to continue and grow their workforce. We are confident that this outcome is a win for AGC Biologics as the buyer, Boulder and the region’s skilled biopharma workforce, and a win for AstraZeneca as the seller.”