HOPEWELL, N.J. & CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & BASEL, Switzerland & BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BeiGene, Ltd. (NASDAQ: BGNE; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global biotechnology company focused on developing innovative and affordable medicines to improve treatment outcomes and access for patients worldwide, today announced the groundbreaking of its flagship U.S. manufacturing and clinical R&D center at the Princeton West Innovation Campus in Hopewell, N.J.
“Our planned flagship U.S. R&D and manufacturing center supports our commitment to fight for life for people living with cancer around the world, through state-of-the-art commercial-stage biologic pharmaceutical manufacturing, late-stage research and clinical development capabilities,” said John Oyler, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of BeiGene. “The Princeton-Hopewell area is an excellent location for BeiGene and the thriving life science community, with a deep talent pool as we continue to advance our pipeline of innovative cancer medicines and work to diversify our global supply chain.”
The initial phase of construction is expected to include approximately 400,000 square feet of dedicated commercial-stage biologic pharmaceutical manufacturing space, with capacity for up to 16,000 liters of biologics formula. BeiGene intends to recruit hundreds of new hires from the area’s attractive talent market to support its continued growth and its commitment to producing life-saving oncology medicines.
“BeiGene’s plans for hundreds of new jobs in New Jersey speak to our efforts to grow our state’s business-friendly environment and to our commitment to fostering innovation,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “We are proud to welcome BeiGene to the Princeton area and look forward to the company manufacturing innovative cancer medicines in its new state-of-the-art facility.”
In November 2021, BeiGene acquired the Hopewell property from Lincoln Equities Group and has retained DPR Construction as its construction management firm and IPS-Integrated Project Services, LLC as its architectural and engineering firm. The property has more than one million square feet of developable real estate for future potential expansion.
Added Oyler: “At BeiGene, we are committed to not only delivering innovative and affordable medicines but also to upholding the highest standards of ethics and integrity, operational excellence, and environmental stewardship. This commitment applies to everything we do, including the development of BeiGene’s Hopewell project.”
“As a leader with a long history in New Jersey’s biotech industry, Hopewell Township welcomes BeiGene to our community,” said Hopewell Mayor Courtney Peters-Manning “We are pleased that BeiGene will bring their state-of-the-art technologies, manufacturing, and R&D center to Hopewell, whose products will help countless people all over the world. We look forward to continuing to work with BeiGene and are excited about what will be produced here in Hopewell.”
BeiGene currently has five offices in the U.S., in San Mateo and Emeryville, Calif., Cambridge, Mass., Ridgefield Park, N.J. and Fulton, Md. Globally, the company has more than 30 offices across five continents.
BeiGene Oncology
BeiGene is committed to advancing best- and first-in-class clinical candidates internally or with like-minded partners to develop impactful and affordable medicines for patients across the globe. We have a growing R&D and medical affairs team of approximately 2,900 colleagues dedicated to advancing more than 100 clinical trials that have involved more than 14,500 subjects. Our expansive portfolio is directed predominantly by our internal colleagues supporting clinical trials in more than 45 countries and regions. Hematology-oncology and solid tumor targeted therapies and immuno-oncology are key focus areas for the Company, with both mono- and combination therapies prioritized in our research and development. BeiGene currently has three approved medicines discovered and developed in our own labs: BTK inhibitor BRUKINSA in the United States, China, the EU and U.K., Canada, Australia and additional international markets; and the non-FC-gamma receptor binding anti-PD-1 antibody tislelizumab as well as the PARP inhibitor pamiparib in China.
BeiGene also partners with innovative companies who share our goal of developing therapies to address global health needs. We commercialize a range of oncology medicines in China licensed from Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, EUSA Pharma and Bio-Thera. We also plan to address greater areas of unmet need globally through our other collaborations including with Mirati Therapeutics, Seagen, and Zymeworks.
In January 2021 BeiGene and Novartis announced a collaboration granting Novartis rights to co-develop, manufacture, and commercialize BeiGene’s anti-PD1 antibody tislelizumab in North America, Europe, and Japan. Building upon this productive collaboration, including a biologics license application (BLA) under FDA review, BeiGene and Novartis announced an option, collaboration and license agreement in December 2021 for BeiGene’s TIGIT inhibitor ociperlimab that is in Phase 3 development. Novartis and BeiGene also entered into a strategic commercial agreement through which BeiGene will promote five approved Novartis Oncology products across designated regions of China.
About BeiGene
BeiGene is a global, science-driven biotechnology company focused on developing innovative and affordable medicines to improve treatment outcomes and access for patients worldwide. With a broad portfolio of more than 40 clinical candidates, we are expediting development of our diverse pipeline of novel therapeutics through our own capabilities and collaborations. We are committed to radically improving access to medicines for two billion more people by 2030. BeiGene has a growing global team of over 8,000 colleagues across five continents. To learn more about BeiGene, please visit www.beigene.com and follow us on Twitter at @BeiGeneGlobal.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws, including statements regarding BeiGene’s plans to establish a new manufacturing and clinical R&D center in New Jersey and to manufacture commercial-stage medicines and drug candidates at the site and to diversify its global supply chain, the expected timing for construction, the expected size and capacity of the site and potential for future expansion, BeiGene’s anticipated investment in and recruiting and hiring of talent for the new manufacturing and R&D center, BeiGene’s commitment to upholding the highest standards of ethics and integrity, operational excellence, and environmental stewardship, and BeiGene’s plans, commitments, aspirations and goals under the headings “BeiGene Oncology” and “About BeiGene”. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including BeiGene's ability to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of its drug candidates; the clinical results for its drug candidates, which may not support further development or marketing approval; actions of regulatory agencies, which may affect the initiation, timing and progress of clinical trials and marketing approval; BeiGene's ability to achieve commercial success for its marketed medicines and drug candidates, if approved; BeiGene's ability to obtain and maintain protection of intellectual property for its medicines and technology; BeiGene's reliance on third parties to conduct drug development, manufacturing and other services; BeiGene’s limited experience in obtaining regulatory approvals and commercializing pharmaceutical products and its ability to obtain additional funding for operations and to complete the development and commercialization of its drug candidates and achieve and maintain profitability; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on BeiGene’s clinical development, regulatory, commercial, manufacturing, and other operations, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in BeiGene’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in BeiGene's subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and BeiGene undertakes no duty to update such information unless required by law.
