Jacobs Wins Contract to Provide Construction Services for WuXi

WuXi Biologics selected Jacobs to provide construction management services to support the development of its new biologics drug substance manufacturing facility located in Dundalk, Co. Louth, Ireland. The new facility, modeled on the “Factories of the Future” concept, will incorporate technology optimized for the flexible production of a wide range of biologic drugs for customers globally, according to Jacobs officials.

Supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland, which they estimate to cost more than $394 million, the project is expected to accelerate the development of biologics in Europe and help increase investment and jobs in Ireland under the Regional Action Plans for Jobs initiative. WuXi’s investment will result in the creation of 400 jobs over five years as well as approximately 700 construction jobs.

“This project shows how we partner with our life sciences clients to advance cutting-edge facilities and drug therapies, while supporting the communities where we live and work,” said Ken Bilmartin, senior vp and general manager, Jacobs Buildings, Infrastructure, and Advanced Facilities. “WuXi has given us the opportunity to deliver a state-of-the-art project to help them serve a global patient population, while furthering the ambition to make Ireland a global center of excellence in biologics.”

The 26-hectare biomanufacturing facility, WuXi’s first outside of China, will incorporate traditional fed-batch or perfusion process and continuous bioprocessing, a next-generation processing technology using selected single-use cell culture and fixed stainless-steel elements for purification. When completed, a total capacity of 48,000 L fed-batch and 6,000 L perfusion will be installed, representing one of the world’s largest plants using single-use bioreactors.