Samsung Biologics acquires GSK manufacturing facility in Montgomery County

 

Some rare good news out of Annapolis about the rare bright spot in the moribund Montgomery County economy: biotech. Samsung Biologics has just acquired the GlaxoSmithKline manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced yesterday. GSK had announced earlier this year that it would be moving its vaccine research and development operations from that Rockville facility to Massachusetts. Samsung's acquisition will keep more than 500 existing jobs at the site, and add an unspecified number of additional jobs as Samsung adds potential production lines for other local biotech firms in the future.

Moore was hands-on in recruiting the South Korean firm. He personally met with Samsung Biologics executives earlier this year during an international trade and investment mission to Japan and South Korea to promote economic growth and workforce development. 

“We are thrilled that Samsung Biologics has selected Maryland for their first U.S. manufacturing facility, a testament to our state’s leadership in life sciences, our highly-skilled workforce and the commitment of our private and public sector to advance patient health around the globe,” Moore said in a statement Monday. “During our Asia trade mission, we were excited to share with Samsung Biologics executives the many reasons why Maryland is an ideal foothold from which the company can execute its long-term strategy to expand in the U.S. market.”

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, who has targeted life sciences in his efforts to attract high-wage jobs to the County, joined Moore in celebrating the win yesterday. “The acquisition of GSK’s Rockville manufacturing campus by Samsung Biologics represents a significant achievement for Montgomery County,” Elrich said in the statement released by Moore's office. “This $280 million investment brings the world's largest contract drug manufacturer to Montgomery County, ensuring U.S.-based manufacturing continues, safeguarding over 500 current jobs, and setting the stage for further growth as Samsung boosts production capacity. It serves as a robust endorsement of the ecosystem we have cultivated, which is founded on talent, diversity, and enduring partnerships. We proudly welcome Samsung Biologics to Montgomery County, Maryland, and anticipate their contribution in enhancing our economy, workforce, and status as a global life sciences hub.”

BioNTech to lay off 32 more employees in Gaithersburg

The hits just keep on coming to the moribund Montgomery County economy. Amid mass layoffs of federal employees who live in the County, biotech firm BioNTech has announced further layoffs at its facilities. 63 employees are already due to be let go on Saturday, August 9. Now the German pharmaceutical company says it will lay off an additional 32 workers at its facility at 25 West Watkins Mill Road in Gaithersburg on September 16. 

Virginia wins AstraZeneca megafactory over Maryland

"There's going to be so much losing, you'll get tired of losing." We're definitely tired of losing in Montgomery County and Maryland, but Virginia just handed us another big L. Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has announced it plans to build its largest global drug manufacturing facility yet in Virginia. The loss is even harder to take when you consider that AstraZeneca already has a substantial presence here in Montgomery County. How did we lose this one?

AstraZeneca's announcement is the latest victory for President Donald Trump's trade strategy, which is in part designed to bring jobs back to America. GE Appliances recently announced it would relocate some of its China manufacturing footprint to the massive factory complex at Appliance Park in Louisville, Kentucky. AstraZeneca's move is to avoid high tariffs Trump proposed for drug imports. 

Montgomery County isn't a total loser in the $50 billion investment AstraZeneca plans to make in the U.S. over the next five years: the company said it also plans to expand its Gaithersburg manufacturing facility, and to add a cell therapy manufacturing facility in Rockville. But it's simply cheaper to do business in Virginia, and the Commonwealth is quickly catching up in the regional biotech race, which has been the sole bright spot in Montgomery County's otherwise-moribund economy.

“I want to thank AstraZeneca for choosing Virginia as the cornerstone for this transformational investment in the United States,” Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a statement. “This project will set the standard for the latest technological advancements in pharmaceutical manufacturing, creating hundreds of highly skilled jobs and helping further strengthen the nation's domestic supply chain. Advanced manufacturing is at the heart of Virginia's dynamic economy, so I am thrilled that AstraZeneca, one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, plans to make their largest global manufacturing investment here in the Commonwealth.”  

“Today’s announcement underpins our belief in America’s innovation in biopharmaceuticals and our commitment to the millions of patients who need our medicines in America and globally,” AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said. “It will also support our ambition to reach $80 billion in revenue by 2030. I look forward to partnering with Governor Youngkin and his team to work on our largest single manufacturing investment ever. It reflects the Commonwealth of Virginia’s desire to create highly skilled jobs in science and technology, and will strengthen the country’s domestic supply chain for medicines.” 

BioNTech layoffs ahead in Gaithersburg

BioNTech announced it will lay off 63 employees at its manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg on August 9, 2025. The German pharmaceutical firm acquired the facility in 2021, riding the company's financial boom from COVID-19 vaccine profits at the time. But expectations that Americans would line up once or more per year for COVID booster shots for the rest of their lives proved a mirage. 

Contrary to government declarations, the vaccine did not prevent the recipient from contracting the virus. And reports of vaccine injuries, increasing vaccine skepticism, and the Biden administration's 2022 declaration that "COVID is over" proved to be the final nails in the vaccine coffin. 

The failure of one of BioNTech's new cancer treatments in testing earlier this year was apparently the last straw, as the company has now chosen to not pursue that product line any further. BioNTech's announcement was a body blow to Montgomery County and Maryland elected officials. Biotech is the only real bright spot in the otherwise-moribund Montgomery County economy, which has failed to attract a major corporate headquarters in over 25 years, and is at, or near, rock-bottom in the region by every relevant metric of job creation, new business starts, and business growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

NIST awards potential $1.5 million to develop regenerative medicine curricula

Gaithersburg's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded a potential $1.5 million to two organizations, with the goal of developing regenerative medicine standards curricula. Brammer Bio, LLC, and Gaithersburg's own Standards Coordinating Body (SCB) for Gene, Cell and Regenerative Medicines and Cell-Based Drug Discovery, will each receive $250,000 per year, with the option to renew for up to three addition years of funding. 

Regenerative medicine includes cell therapy, gene therapy, and therapeutic tissue engineering. It relies on the human body's own healing abilities to regenerate or replace damaged organs, cells, and tissue. As a rapidly-growing field in medicine and research, regenerative medicine is a promising new avenue in preventing, treating, and curing cancer and genetic disorders.

NIST was charged by the U.S. Congress last year to help develop the regenerative medicine workforce of the future. It oversaw a competitive process earlier this year, through which the two winning organizations were identified. Now these organizations will endeavor to create training programs on the standards, protocols, and measurements that will provide a foundation for the field going forward.

“We are thrilled to announce our new partnerships to develop an innovative standards education program, paving the way for flexible and immersive learning experiences that support advanced biomanufacturing,” Sheng Lin-Gibson, chief of NIST’s Biosystems and Biomaterials Division, said in a statement this morning. “These educational programs will facilitate the adoption of standards and best practices to increase quality and consistency of advanced therapies and ultimately bring down costs.”

Photo courtesy Robert Rathe/NIST

Montgomery County fumbles biotech HQ, Philadelphia recovers for touchdown

Butterfingers! Biotech, along with residential housing construction, is really the only bright spot in Montgomery County's otherwise-moribund economy. Decisions - and hefty tax breaks, which coincidentally only apply to these two industries (wow, you mean tax breaks generate economic growth?) - made by County and Maryland leaders decades ago led to the development of a strong biotech sector. But even this couldn't prevent MoCo officials' latest fumble of a corporate headquarters, as the relocation search of Adare Pharma Solutions' global headquarters ended with the selection of...Philadelphia.

The New Jersey-based biotech firm made its decision last month, but the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development celebrated the victory at a ceremony on Friday. “Having a company like Adare relocate its global headquarters to Philadelphia is a fantastic win for our Commonwealth and proves Pennsylvania gets it done,” DCED Secretary Rick Siger said. “The company’s growth is helping to boost our already robust life sciences sector ― a key element of our economic development strategy — while creating more opportunities for Pennsylvanians.”

Steering the Keystone state's successful bid was the Governor's Action Team. “I’m competitive as hell and I believe Pennsylvania is the best state in the nation for companies who want to innovate, grow, and succeed so I’m thrilled that Adare has chosen Pennsylvania over other states for its headquarters and continued growth,” Governor Josh Shapiro said in a statement. “Pennsylvania is a leader in biotech and life sciences – with a talented workforce, access to key markets, and significant laboratory infrastructure – and Adare’s growth here will build on that legacy while creating more opportunity for Pennsylvanians. Pennsylvania is open for business, and I look forward to welcoming more companies to our Commonwealth in the near future.”

Adare's new global HQ will bring "at least 115 new, well-paying jobs" to Pennsylvania, the governor's statement indicated. Meanwhile, on the day that Philadelphia was celebrating the Adare HQ prize, the Montgomery County Council was tweeting about placing even more costly environmental regulations and paperwork responsibilities on building owners in the County. "Doh!" Now there's a great recruiting message to send to firms around the world. Montgomery County continues to be closed for business.

Emergent BioSolutions to lay off employees, shutter Rockville facility

Emergent BioSolutions of Gaithersburg will lay off 154 workers, and shutter its Rockville manufacturing facility, the company announced as part of a restructuring. It will also eliminate some vacant positions, in an attempt to save $80 million. The biotech firm will scale back its goals to focus on its core businesses: medical countermeasures and NARCAN Nasal Spray. 

"Decisions like these are never easy as they have real impact on many of our dedicated colleagues," Emergent CEO Joe Papa said in a statement. "We are committed to providing resources to those affected as they transition to new opportunities." Emergent will concentrate its operations at sites in Winnipeg, Canada, and Lansing, Michigan.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore visits AstraZeneca lab in Montgomery County

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) traveled to Gaithersburg to visit the AstraZeneca laboratory, and to make a big announcement. AstraZeneca is one of the largest biotech employers in Montgomery County and Maryland, and is located in the I-270 life sciences corridor. Moore chose the location to announce a new partnership between the Maryland Tech Council's Biohub Maryland initiative and Ireland's National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training. Ireland is one of the fastest-growing pharmaceutical manufacturing countries in the world, and the agreement makes Biohub Maryland NIBRT's exclusive partner in the Washington, D.C. region.

Moore toured the complex, and greeted AstraZeneca employees and biotech leaders. At one point, the governor donned a white lab coat and safety glasses to enter an actual laboratory in the facility. “Today, we’re not just here to celebrate this new BioHub partnership. We’re here to celebrate a new direction for Maryland’s economy and workforce,” Moore said. “We are ready to win. We are ready to grow and we are ready to show the entire country what we’re made of.”

Photos courtesy Maryland Governor's office

Emergent BioSolutions to cut jobs at Rockville production facility

Gaithersburg biotech firm Emergent BioSolutions announced this morning that it will lay off 400 employees as part of a restructuring effort to strengthen the company's financial position. Some of the job cuts will be from the firm's Rockville drug production facility, Emergent said in a press release. The company said it will cut back on the services side of its business to focus on its core products, such as medical countermeasures and NARCAN nasal spray. 

“The actions we are taking will further strengthen our core products business and financial foundation,” Emergent interim Chief Executive Officer Haywood Miller said in a statement this morning. “This will better align Emergent’s businesses with a focus on our core products and delivering for the needs of our customers. It will provide us with flexibility to respond to future customer demand while responsibly maintaining manufacturing infrastructure deemed critical to respond to public health threats.”

Rockville biotech firm to expand with new lab space in Gaithersburg

Rockville-based Shuttle Pharmaceuticals will expand its footprint within Montgomery County this summer. The company announced yesterday that it is leasing additional laboratory and office space at an unspecified property in Gaithersburg. Shuttle Pharmaceuticals was founded by faculty members of Georgetown University Medical Center in 2012, and specializes in improving radiation therapy treatments for cancer, while attempting to reduce their side effects. Among the therapies in development at Shuttle is Ropidoxuridine, its lead clinical sensitizer drug candidate.

Gaithersburg's Emergent BioSolutions gets thumbs-up from FDA committees on OTC use of NARCAN

Emergent BioSolutions and its stockholders have received promising news from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Two FDA committees voted unanimously to approve over-the-counter use of the company's NARCAN nasal-spray, which can be administered to patients suffering from an opioid overdose. If the FDA gives final approval, NARCAN will be the first 4 mg naloxone nasal spray to become available to consumers as an over-the-counter product in the United States. 

"This favorable recommendation marks another important step forward to broaden access to NARCAN Nasal Spray for those who may be at risk of an opioid overdose,” Paul Williams, SVP and Products Business Head, Emergent BioSolutions, said in a statement yesterday. “Today’s vote reaffirms our confidence in the safe and effective use of NARCAN in the community setting. We want to thank the participants in the open public hearing who shared their insights and personal experiences informing the need to make NARCAN more readily available over the counter.” With the fentanyl crisis and pandemic alone, what a few years it has been for Montgomery County's biotech sector, the lone bright spot in a stagnant county economy.

The Labs at West Watkins on Gaithersburg Planning Commission agenda tonight

Trammell Crow is asking the City of Gaithersburg to allow it to rellocate and consolidate approved office and retail space for its planned biotech development, The Labs at West Watkins. Located in the Watkins Mill Town Center, the two life sciences buildings would be larger than originally planned, allowing Trammell Crow to eliminate two other office buildings it had approvals for. For that reason, the company needs to reallocate the 62,494 square feet of retail and 100,950 SF of office space already approved for the two canceled buildings among these two biotech buildings, and three other future buildings.

The Labs at West Watkins is to be part of the long-delayed urban core of the Watkins Mill development, where there has been substantial residential development such as the Parklands community. Future streets that would connect to the Labs property are Town Center Boulevard, Commerce Street, Midtown Street, Grand Street and Parkview Avenue extended. All of these roads have yet to be constructed. Trammell Crow also notes that the replacement of the Corridor Cities Transitway rail line with a bus rapid transit route has made the required dedications of land on its property for the railway obsolete.

The Gaithersburg Planning Commission will review the requested site plan update at its meeting tonight, September 7, 2022 at 7:30 PM. City planning staff are not yet making a recommendation on the request to the commissioners at this early stage of review.

Renderings courtesy Trammell Crow Company

AstraZeneca renames Gaithersburg building for José Baselga

AstraZeneca renamed the flagship building at its Gaithersburg campus for former executive Dr. José Baselga, an oncologist and researcher this morning. Baselga is most revered for his discoveries that led to several groundbreaking treatments for breast cancer. He joined AstraZeneca after working at several prominent institutions, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Baselga passed away last May at the age of 61, from complications of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease.

Damascus-based foundation awards $750,000 in sarcoma research grants

The Sarcoma Foundation of America has awarded $750,000 in research grants to combat the cancer found in soft tissue and bones. Each of the 15 research grants was worth $50,000.

“The Sarcoma Foundation of America is honored to support the work of the 15 exceptional researchers that have been selected to receive a 2020 research grant award. We believe their efforts will contribute to increasing scientific understanding of sarcoma and can help lead us to advancements in the treatment of the disease,” said Brandi Felser, Executive Director of the Sarcoma Foundation of America in a statement. 

This brings the total in research funding issued by the SFA to more than $11 million. The SFA is located at 9899 Main Street in Damascus.

Germantown's Neuraly begins Phase 2 clinical trial for NLY01 for Parkinson's

Germantown biotech firm Neuraly is a step closer to achieving a potential breakthrough treatment for Parkinson's disease. The first patient has just been dosed in the Phase 2 clinical trial of their NLY01 product, a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist.

Testing so far has shown that NLY01 was effective in preventing neuronal cell death, as well as preventing the decline of motor skills frequently found in Parkinson's patients. Neuraly is located on Goldenrod Lane, in the Germantown Innovation Center.

Qiagen acquired by Thermo Fisher

Qiagen, a Dutch molecular diagnostic and sample prep firm with facilities in Germantown, has been acquired by diagnostics firm Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. The acquisition price was €39 per share in cash.

"This strategic step with Thermo Fisher will enable us to enter a promising new era and will give our employees the opportunity to have an even greater impact," Qiagen interim CEO Thierry Bernard said yesterday from Qiagen's world headquarters in Venlo, The Netherlands. Qiagen's beautiful, forest-lined campus is on the wonderfully-named Qiagen Strasse in Germantown.

Montgomery County fumbles Eli Lilly factory to North Carolina

Indianapolis residents now know what it feels like to live in Montgomery County. Just as moribund MoCo can't get one of its few remaining major companies - Lockheed - to locate its manufacturing facilities here, neither could Indy get hometown pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly to build its new manufacturing facility in the Hoosier capital. Lilly is looking south instead, choosing Durham County, North Carolina's booming Research Triangle Park.

"We continue to grow North Carolina into a worldwide hub for the biotechnology industry," a jubilant North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said in a statement Tuesday.

Biotech and hospitality are the only two economic sectors in Montgomery County that even have a pulse these days, thanks to decisions made by wiser County leaders prior to the Montgomery County political cartel's seizure of the County Council in 2002 (today, the cartel controls all nine Council seats). But just days after the Washington Post reported once again that Montgomery County has fallen behind Prince George's County in job creation (while failing to report MoCo was also behind every other county in the region over the last decade in that department), Montgomery County's elected officials weren't able to score the biggest biotech get of the year so far - the Eli Lilly factory.

Not only did the County Council and economic development officials make no public campaign to attract Lilly, but their fumble also emphasizes how our inept leaders are squandering the biotech advantages their smarter, less corrupt predecessors left them at the turn of the century. North Carolina is catching up, as is Virginia. As MoCo officials continue to drop balls left and right, those and other states will soon surpass us.

North Carolina Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland correctly noted Tuesday that, "North Carolina is one of the nation’s leading centers for innovation in the life sciences." They also have two other things we don't: A friendly business climate, and superior infrastructure.

The Tar Heel state has the Research Triangle Park. Montgomery County was supposed to have a "Science City" in the I-270 corridor. Remember that?

Montgomery County elected officials couldn't even get that done. Of course, they never intended to. "Science City" was a total ruse perpetrated by the Council, and their developer sugar daddies, a decade ago. Sold to you as something like North Carolina's biotech park, that fakeout was merely a Trojan horse for more residential development.

Remember how Clarksburg, Germantown and Shady Grove were going to be booming job centers, with a Corridor Cities Transitway and expanded MARC service? None of that ever happened.

But - the housing all got built.

Jobs continued to divert to Northern Virginia, and I-270 just got more congested with all of the new housing approved by the Council without any new transportation infrastructure to support it. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Now, standing amidst the ashes of a "Science City" ghost town surrounded by stack-and-pack Soviet-style apartment blocs, the Council is saying the whole problem is...there wasn't enough housing built. LOL. [Insert cuckoo clock sound here].

You can't make this stuff up, folks.

What did we lose this week as a result?

462 new pharmaceutical manufacturing jobs, with an average salary above $72,000. 462 jobs are just a drop in the bucket given how stagnant and shrinking Montgomery County's economy is, but we're not in a position to pass any up in such a crisis. We should be, but are not, actively pursuing aerospace, biotech, and defense corporate headquarters, and their related research and manufacturing facilities.

North Carolina's Research Triangle Park's motto is, "Inspiring Bold Ideas."

The Montgomery County Council's is, "Lining our pockets with developer cash."

Our County's should be, "The Bedroom Community for the Booming Job Centers Elsewhere in Our Region."

Gaithersburg's Novavax gets fast-track from FDA for seniors' flu vaccine

America is suffering through another devastating flu season, especially children and seniors, but more help is on the way for the latter from a vaccine firm in Gaithersburg. Novavax announced Thursday that it has received fast-track designation for its NanoFlu vaccine for older adults. The company said it expects NanoFlu to better match flu strains and be more effective than egg-based vaccines.

NanoFlu is designed for adults 65 and older. Novavax is located at 21 Firstfield Road.

AstraZenica going green in Gaithersburg

Gaithersburg biotech firm AstraZenica is going green. The international company has teamed up with My Green Lab to have that sustainability non-profit certify its laboratories in Gaithersburg, Cambridge (UK), Boston, and elsewhere to its sustainability standards.

Other labs already certified by My Green Lab include MIT and Los Alamos National Laboratories. Steps labs can take to comply with My Green Lab's standards include energy and water-saving measures, waste reduction, and elimination of hazardous or toxic chemicals from their protocols, according to a statement from My Green Lab.

Photo via My Green Lab

Gaithersburg's Emergent BioSolutions gets European clearance for vaccine development

Emergent BioSolutions, a Gaithersburg biotech firm, has received approval from the European Medicines Agency to proceed with its plans to develop a vaccine for the chikungunya virus, the company announced in a statement this morning. The mosquito-spread virus, also known as chikungunya fever, causes fever, joint pain and rash.

The Emergent BioSolutions vaccine has already shown promise in testing, with up to 98% of test participants developing an antibody response sufficient to neutralize the virus within seven days of receiving the vaccine. A single dose has proven effective for at least one year in laboratory tests so far. Emergent BioSolutions is located at 400 Professional Drive.