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Dive brief:
- CSL-Behring on Monday broke ground on a $1.5 billion expansion of its manufacturing facility in Kankakee, Illinois.
- The new expanded facility will substantially increase the company’s ability to produce plasma-derived therapies for people living with rare and serious diseases. like hemophilia and immunodeficienciesCSL said. It is expected to become operational in 2031.
- The project is expected to create at least 300 new pharmaceutical jobs and about 800 construction and related jobs. In a deal still being finalized, state officials have offered more than $200 million in tax incentives to secure the project in Kankakee, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said at a press conference.
Diving knowledge:
CSL said the addition to the plant is part of its global expansion strategy. It has invested more than $3 billion in its U.S. operations since 2018, creating more than 6,500 new American jobs and increasing its total U.S. workforce to nearly 19,000.
The expansion of CSL Behring’s Kankakee facility will increase production capacity for CSL’s most important immunoglobulin therapies. they privilege i Hizentra, Pritzker said in a press release. It will incorporate the company’s Horizon 2 manufacturing process, which allows significantly greater production of immunoglobulin from the same base amount of plasma.
There are currently more than 1,200 full-time employees, all of whom are expected to remain.
“As the need for plasma-derived therapies continues to grow in the United States and globally, the expansion of our Kankakee site further strengthens this key hub in our supply network,” CEO and President Gordon Naylor said in a statement.
According to CSL, plasma-derived therapies treat serious and rare diseases by using proteins found in human plasma. Plasma is part of the blood and contains proteins that are essential for critical body functions, such as fighting infection or helping blood clot. When specific plasma proteins are missing or not working properly, this can lead to serious health problems that can be life-threatening and require ongoing treatment.
Many of the conditions that plasma-derived therapies treat are relatively rare, but collectively affect thousands of people, including those living with hemophilia, primary immunodeficiency and hereditary angioedema.
Plasma-derived therapies are also used as a life-saving standard of care for many emergency and life-threatening conditions. These include trauma, such as car accidents, burns, shock, and certain maternal health conditions, such as postpartum hemorrhage.
