Genentech
expansion to add 200 jobs
By
Melissa Murphy/ MMurphy@TheReporter.comPosted: 10/15/2013 01:01:24 AM PDT
Biotechnology giant Genentech Inc.
announced it will invest $153 million in its Vacaville location as part of expanding
its manufacturing facility.
A press
release issued by Genentech on Monday said that the expansion will involve a
re-open and upgrade of the facility, and will create approximately 200 jobs,
including more than 100 skilled technicians, scientists, engineers and quality
professionals by the end of 2014. Hiring will start in late 2013.
With the
expansion, Vacaville will be the largest producer of biologic substances for
Genentech and Roche and the biggest biotech facility in the world, according to
the company.
It's great
news for Vacaville, said City Manager Laura Kuhn.
"It's
fabulous," she said. "It's one of our larger employers with high-wage
jobs. It's better for our community."
She said
there will be some permits needed for the upgrade, but that the company is
using an existing part of the building that sits at the corner of Vaca Valley
Parkway and Interstate 505.
Kuhn said
Solano Community College is looking to expand classes for the biotech industry
at its Vacaville location, which is right across the street from Genentech.
"It's
exciting," she said. "The city is thrilled. We've built a great bond
with Genentech and we work well together."
Solano
Economic Development Corp. President Sandy Person said the news is also great
for Solano County.
"It's
a very cool thing and great news for Vacaville and Solano County," she
said. "It's a real boon for Solano County's biotech cluster."
She added
that, coming out of a recession, there is momentum in the housing and business
industries.
"We
are well poised to reap the benefits of new activities and investments,"
she said.
Genentech
also is expanding in Southern California.
Genentech,
a member of the Roche Group, will invest another $132 million at its
manufacturing facility in Oceanside.
The
company currently employs approximately 10,000 people in the state. The
expansions will add 250 jobs at the facilities during the next four years,
bringing the total number of Genentech manufacturing jobs in California to
close to 3,000, according to the press release.
"California
has always had an impressive skilled workforce that has allowed Genentech to
hire diverse and talented individuals in various disciplines," Ian Clark,
chief executive officer of Genentech, said in the press release. "In
recent years, California has made great strides toward improving the business
environment for life sciences innovation and incentivizing manufacturing. We
are committed to working with the state to continue this positive progress and
make California an even better place to grow the industry."
Genentech's
U.S. manufacturing network spans three locations in California -- South San
Francisco, Vacaville and Oceanside -- and Hillsboro, Ore., producing medicines intended
for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, including cancer, rheumatoid
arthritis and asthma.
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Staff Writer Melissa Murphy at Twitter.com/ReporterMMurphy.
