Laureate Pharma expands NJ facility

US firm Laureate Pharma, a partner company of Safeguard Scientifics, has announced plans to invest up to $9.0 million to expand its biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Princeton, New Jersey.

The facility expansion will provide Laureate with a new pilot production plant with two separate manufacturing suites and expanded purification capacity to support additional current Good Manufacturing Practice production. The new pilot plant will include stainless steel stirred tank bioreactors and disposable single-use bioreactors - the same technologies used in Laureate's large-scale cGMP biomanufacturing facility.

The pilot plant is designed for process development, production and purification of early-phase preclinical proteins and is isolated from Laureate's main manufacturing area. New equipment to be installed include bioprocess purification systems, analytical testing systems and associated equipment. Employment at Laureate is expected to grow 15% by year-end, in response to increased demand, the firm said.