Rockville, MD – Biotechnology companies looking for an existing contract manufacturing facility need to look no further than Baltimore.
Scheer Partners Inc., a leading provider of commercial real estate services in the greater Baltimore and Washington metropolitan areas, announced today that it is marketing for lease or sale a two-story, 56,000- square-foot biomanufacturing facility at 5901 East Lombard Street.
Built in 1995 and formerly operated by Lonza, the MdBio Research Center – situated on 5.3 acres along with three acres of potential expansion capacity – is across the street from the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center campus and has direct access from the Harbor Tunnel (I-895).
Seven labs are connected to the pilot plant, which has five compartmentalized suites that allow for up to five different manufacturing processes to simultaneously occur. Manufacturing capabilities include antibody drug conjugation, lyophilization and fill, mammalian cell culture, microbial fermentation and purification.
While the new user of the facility would have to get it revalidated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), the systems and infrastructure are in place to facilitate the transition, according to Mike Norris, LEED AP, a vice president with Scheer Partners. Plus, developing such a plant from the ground up would cost $20 million or more.
The MdBio Research Center features upgraded power on a dual grid with Johns Hopkins, as well as separately zoned HVAC in each of the pilot plant suites. Other key equipment include a steam system with two highpressure boilers, compressed air, RO/DI and WFI systems, a walk-in refrigerator and a walk-in freezer, a clean steam generator, three autoclaves, a 500L bioreactor and two centrifuges.
Swiss biotechnology company Lonza had previously occupied the plant following its $460 million acquisition of Cambrex’s biopharma and bioproducts businesses in 2006. Lonza has since consolidated its contract manufacturing operations outside of Maryland.
The Baltimore facility is owned by MdBio Foundation Inc. Adam Nachlas, a senior vice president with Scheer Partners, and Norris are marketing 5901 East Lombard Street to local, regional, national and international companies. The lease rate is $25.00 a square foot, triple net, while the sale price is $9.5 million.