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Source: Morphotek, Inc. Source Date: March 8, 2010
Contact: Suzanne Grogan
Eisai Inc.
201-746-2083
MORPHOTEK®, Inc. BREAKS GROUND FOR 60,000-SQUARE-FOOT
MANUFACTURING PLANT
Facility Underscores Company’s Commitment to the Development of
Biologics in Oncology, Infectious and Immunological Disease
Exton, PA, March 8, 2010 – Morphotek®, Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eisai Co., Ltd., today broke ground for a new pilot manufacturing plant for the production of biologics to support its early-stage clinical trials. The company will invest $80 million in the 60,000-square-foot facility, which will encompass a cGMP grade pilot plant and office space for support functions, enabling Morphotek to maximize the efficiencies of its product development process and move closer to its goal of becoming a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company. The facility will be located in Exton, PA, with construction forecast for completion in spring 2011. Operations are expected to begin by fall 2012, leading to an estimated 56 new jobs over the next three to five years.
“Our investment in this new pilot manufacturing facility will extend our capabilities in the field of biologics and support the programs we currently have in Phase I and Phase II clinical development,” said Nicholas Nicolaides, Ph.D., President & CEO of Morphotek®, Inc.
Morphotek has a number of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in clinical development including a Phase III mAb for ovarian cancer; a Phase II mAb for mesothelioma; and an anti-angiogenic mAb in Phase I clinical trials being developed to treat a broad array of solid tumors.
“Today’s groundbreaking marks another major milestone in Eisai’s history,” said Haruo Naito, President & CEO, Eisai Co., Ltd. “It further illustrates our long-standing commitment to the area of biological therapies and to fulfilling our human health care (hhc) mission of addressing the unmet medical needs of patients, especially those affected by life-threatening diseases around the world.”
In addition to Mr. Naito and Dr. Nicolaides, special guests at the groundbreaking ceremony included U.S. Representative Jim Gerlach (Pennsylvania – 6th District) and Kim Thiboldeaux, President and CEO of the Cancer Support Community. Other notable guests included Dennis M. “Mickey” Flynn, President of Pennsylvania Bio; RoseAnn Rosenthal, President & CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania; Helen Miller, CEO of CancerCare; Karen Orloff Kaplan, CEO of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance; April Donahue, President of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition; and Wendy Lancaster Homer, Co-Chair, Board of Directors of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition.
About Morphotek
Morphotek®, Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eisai Co., Ltd., is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of protein and antibody products through the use of novel and proprietary technologies. The technologies have been successfully applied to a variety of molecules that are suitable for pharmaceutical product development in the areas of antibody therapeutics, protein therapeutics, product manufacturing, drug target discovery, and improved output traits for commercial applications. The company is currently focusing its platform on the development and manufacturing of therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and infectious disease. For more information, please visit www.morphotek.com.
Eisai Co., Ltd. Eisai Co., Ltd. (Haruo Naito, President and CEO) is a research-based human health care (hhc) company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world. Through a global network of research facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, Eisai actively participates in all aspects of the worldwide health care system. Eisai employs approximately 11,000 employees worldwide.