Argos To Build $57M Bio-Manufacturing Facility In North Carolina
Argos announced its plans to invest $57 million in a new bio-manufacturing facility to house the continued development of personalized oncological immunotherapies, currently in stage 3 clinical trials, reports The News Observer.
AGS-003, a compound licensed from Duke University, is indicated for treatment of patients with advanced stage Renal Cell Carcinoma. The treatment technology uses the patient’s own cancer cells to design a treatment to boost immune systems suppressed by the disease.
Jeff Abbey, CEO of Argos explains the long-term viability of the research. “The beauty of what we’re doing is that the exact same thing is applicable to any other cancer.”
The treatment is currently being evaluated to see if the inclusion of AGS-003 with standard treatment options increases life expectancy when compared to the standard treatment acting alone. Argos projects complete enrollment by early 2015.
Also in Argos’ pipeline is an immunotherapy designed for the treatment of HIV, currently in stage 2 clinical trial. Initial testing of AGS-004 on HIV-infected patients has found that the treatment shows human immune response against the virus even after therapy has stopped, showing the drug’s potential as a functional cure.
The new 100,000 square foot facility will support the production of AGS-003 and potentially other future projects.
The decision to build in Durham is based partly on the $9.5 million investment package. The Globe Newswire offered a breakdown of the sum. $4.5 million came from the state and $1.85 million from the city. The package included a $1.8 million tax exemption on equipment, $500K for job-training assistance, and a $200K job development grant from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
The News Observer reports that the balance of the $57 million will come from public stock options and loans obtained this week.
Pat McCrory, North Carolina’s governor, explained the state’s incentive to keep a locally grown company local. The state’s investment is expected to yield over 236 local jobs by 2018.
McCrory said, “Argos’ cutting edge work in personalized immunotherapy may lead to new treatments for people living with cancer, HIV, and other serious illnesses. It’s exciting to see this biopharma company continue to grow in North Carolina.”