Drug maker creating 450 jobs

Drug maker creating 450 jobs

The Pfizer manufacturing campus in Portage is the drug maker's largest production site. Courtesy Pfizer

A drug maker is planning to build a new $465-million plant in the region that will create 450 jobs.

New York-based Pfizer plans to build the 400,000-square-foot sterile drug manufacturing facility at its Portage campus, at 7000 Portage Rd., as a result of new FDA regulations, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, or MEDC, said today.

The project will be the first of its kind for the company and is “critical to the continued growth of the life science sector in Michigan,” MEDC said.

As a result of new FDA regulations, pharmaceutical companies will need to start manufacturing injectable drugs in sterile, self-contained production rooms so that no cross contamination can occur.

Without this investment, the company would expect its Portage site to see flat or declining production volume and the loss of jobs, MEDC said.

The project will take eight years to complete.

MEDC approved a 100-percent Good Jobs for Michigan Withholding Tax Capture for up to 10 years valued at $10.5 million, as well as a $1-million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant.

Pfizer

Pfizer develops and produces medicines and vaccines for a wide range of medical disciplines.

Pfizer has been active in Portage over the past few years, including construction of a $30-million warehouse this year and a $146-million construction project that began in 2016.