PCI Pharma Services is planning a major expansion of its facilities in Bedford, beginning with the construction of a 50,000-square-foot building at 7 Commerce Drive. The company acquired Bedford-based life sciences provider Lyophilization Services of New England in December.
PCI Pharma Services is planning a major expansion of its facilities in Bedford, beginning with the construction of a 50,000-square-foot building at 7 Commerce Drive. The company acquired Bedford-based life sciences provider Lyophilization Services of New England in December.
Jaclyn Jaeger/Special to the Union Leader
PCI Pharma Services is planning a major expansion of its facilities in Bedford, beginning with the construction of a 50,000-square-foot building at 7 Commerce Drive. The company acquired Bedford-based life sciences provider Lyophilization Services of New England in December.
Provided by PCI Pharma Services
PCI Pharma Services expects its 50,000-square-foot expansion project at 7 Commerce Drive in Bedford to open in summer 2024.
A global pharmaceutical manufacturing company that develops, manufactures, and packages life-changing therapies for patients all around the world is expanding its campus in Bedford.
PCI Pharma Services’ acquired Bedford-based life sciences provider Lyophilization Services of New England in December 2021. Following that acquisition, PCI now has its sights on a major expansion plan, with the construction of a 50,000-square-foot facility.
“The 50,000-square-foot facility will be an extension to one of our existing facilities in Bedford,” said Bryan Koeppl, senior vice president of transformation at PCI. It will be located in Commerce Park, with construction slated for completion in the summer of 2024, he said.
The facility will hold state-of-the-art technology in biologics packaging and specialty manufacturing, with the broader goal of helping patients receive therapies faster.
PCI’s new technology will include a high-speed aseptic fill-finish line, with the capacity to fill 400 vials per minute, and will have a fully isolated containment system, Koeppl said.
Aseptic fill-finish is a critical part of pharmaceutical manufacturing involving a complex cleaning and sterilization process to help ensure drug products are safe and free of contaminants before being introduced to the market.
“Building and operating aseptic drug manufacturing facilities is always a complex activity,” Koeppl said. “It is the most regulated manufacturing process, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) routinely inspects manufacturing facilities every 18 to 24 months.”
Bill Duschatko, a member of Bedford’s town council and planning board vice chairman, welcomed the expansion plans. Any type of new or expanding business is “going to help economically,” he said. “I can’t understand why anybody would push back on the development of any type of business.”
With the expansion of its Bedford campus, PCI will create 150 new jobs over the next two years as it looks to hire manufacturing technicians, microbiologists, engineers, quality control, and project managers. Currently, PCI employees nearly 300 people in Bedford, Koeppl said.
“Aseptic, or sterile, drug product manufacturing facilities require highly skilled operators to function safely and efficiently, so each new production employee will be trained and tasked with maintaining a sterile, clean environment,” Koeppl said. “These technical, highly skilled positions will help produce life-changing medicines.”
In addition to job creation, “PCI has made every effort to use local businesses to construct the facility,” Koeppl added. “With an estimated overall economic impact of $100-$200 million for the town of Bedford, PCI is committed to helping the local community continue to grow and become a center for the manufacturing of life-changing treatments. This will also help establish Bedford as a hub for high-tech pharmaceutical manufacturing.”
According to data from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the biopharmaceutical sector supports nearly 13,000 jobs in New Hampshire alone and generates $198.6 million in tax revenue.
Currently, eight New Hampshire facilities are involved in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, generating goods and services with a total value of $3.7 billion, according to PhRMA.
In addition to its Bedford locations, PCI also has locations in five other states, as well as in Canada, Europe and Australia.
Following PCI’s recently announced construction of the New England Clinical Center of Excellence in Bridgewater, Mass., the Bedford location is “well-positioned to create a centralized hub for its Northeast clients,” the company stated in a press release.
PCI has similar state-of-the-art expansion plans for its three other Bedford-based facilities, including two on Harvey Road, and another building on Commerce Drive.
Bedford’s planning board, which considers every type of business and housing proposal concerning Bedford, must still review and ensure the plans are keeping with zoning and development requirements.
