Abbott Zeroes in on Puerto Rico for Biologics Manufacturing

Published on: April 22, 2007

Abbott (Abbott Park, IL, www.abbott.com) recently announced the official opening of its new biologics manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico to support the long-term supply of its leading biologic agent, HUMIRA (adalimumab), and other future biologics. The new facility, Abbott Biotechnology Limited (ABL), received FDA approval in February to commercially produce HUMIRA for the US market.

ABL is now the main production facility for HUMIRA, the only fully human monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis in the US and Europe. The drug is also approved in the US to treat Crohn's disease. The site has significantly more production capacity than the company’s other manufacturing facility for HUMIRA, the Abbott Bioresearch Center (ABC) in Worcester, MA. The ABC site will now serve as a supporting production facility for HUMIRA and will focus on Abbott's growing biologics research and development portfolio.

The new plant is Abbott’s single-largest capital investment to date, costing approximately $450 million. With this investment, Abbott can achieve large-scale production volumes in biologic manufacturing. In addition to producing HUMIRA, the 330,000-square feet facility is designed for large-scale production of future products in Abbott’s pipeline that will require advanced manufacturing technologies.