WuXi Biologics plans to expand manufacturing capacity at The Reactory

A Chinese pharmaceutical firm that is looking to make The Reactory life sciences park off Belmont Street its home will expand its drug manufacturing capacity by 50%, according to the company.

WuXi Biologics will look to produce about 36,000 liters of pharmaceutical products from the 24,000 liters it announced in 2022, when work started toward its 189,500-square-foot project that is still under construction.

The manufacturer has locations across the country and Ireland, Germany and Singapore, according to a statement.

“We are proud to contribute to the growth of the biomanufacturing industry in Massachusetts and the U.S. as a whole,” Dr. Bill Aitchison, the head of U.S. operations for WuXi, said. “We are delighted to support our clients with increased capacity alongside our long-standing partners and local stakeholders in the state.”

WuXi is only one of the life sciences companies eyeing as its next location a lot inside The Reactory, a 46-acre development at 305 Belmont St. aimed at biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The current project is set to cost $300 million, a fivefold increase from the original $60 million, 107,000-square-foot project that was first introduced and approved by the city in 2021.

The company promises to employ 250 people when becoming fully operational in 2025.

Also on The Reactory, Webster-rooted developer Galaxy Life Sciences is erecting a 246,000-square-foot building after earning city approval to double its original plans last month, according to a statement by Matthew Zicaro, Galaxy’s vice president of real estate development, engineering and project management.

The expansion came after a $4 million deal in which the company purchased three parcels of land within The Reactory in February 2023.

The Reactory abuts biopharmaceutical company AbbVie and the Beechwood Hotel.

 (Source: Telegram & Gazette)