MedImmune Breaks Ground on New Expansion

Gaithersburg, MD (Sept. 13) -MedImmune, Inc. (www.medimmune.com) has broken ground on an expansion to its biologics manufacturing facility in Frederick, Maryland. The $250-million expansion is the first phase of a multi-phase construction project that MedImmune announced last fall.

The company’s “Synagis” monoclonal antibody is currently produced at the facility, and the expansion will increase the cell-culture manufacturing production capacity in preparation for future monoclonal antibodies that are currently in development. MedImmune recently received a five-year contract worth $170-million from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS, Washington, D.C., www.hhs.gov) to develop cell culture-based seasonal and pandemic vaccines. The vaccines will be produced at the Frederick facility.

MedImmune has purchased the raw materials and equipment needed for the expanded facility, and Beck, Powell & Parsons (Baltimore, MD, www.beckpowell.com) has been designated the architectural firm responsible for the project. The first phase of the expansion is expected to be complete in late 2009.