Entegris, Inc., a supplier of advanced materials and process solutions for the semiconductor and other high-technology industries, today announced the expansion of its Life Sciences manufacturing facilities located in Billerica, MA; Bloomington, MN; and Logan, UT.
The expansions are part of Entegris’ capital expenditures plan to invest approximately $30 million in life sciences capacity and capabilities this year, in addition to the $10 million invested in 2020. The facilities will develop and manufacture bioprocessing assemblies, such as its Aramus™ critical fluid handling product line currently used to produce and deliver vaccines worldwide. The company anticipates hiring nearly 200 additional employees with engineering and production experience throughout 2021 to support increased demand for its products.
Entegris also has started development of its Life Sciences Technology Center located at its headquarters in Billerica, MA. The facility will be dedicated to providing application testing, process development, and solution demonstration services for bioprocess technologies including freeze, thaw, and filtration applications.
Bertrand Loy, Entegris’ president and chief executive officer, said the company recognized that it was a natural partner to the life sciences industry due to its expertise in complex manufacturing processes with their rigorous requirements for achieving high purity and high yields. Although Entegris began developing solutions specific to bioprocessing needs before the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has more recently used its significant capabilities in advanced manufacturing environments to rapidly mobilize and provide key support to biopharmaceutical companies in the race to safely develop, produce and distribute a vaccine.
“With more than 50 years of experience serving industries with complex specifications, we understand the importance of process stability, consistency, safety and speed in bioprocessing. Entegris’ life sciences solutions have proven to be invaluable to biopharmaceutical companies in successfully delivering COVID-19 vaccines to the global population. Our investment in expanding and developing facilities dedicated to life sciences capabilities further demonstrates the company’s commitment to effectively serving this industry – now and in the future.”
The expansion of Entegris’ bioprocessing facilities comes as the pharmaceutical sector increases demand for high-purity systems designed for freezing, transporting, storing, and thawing drug substances. In addition to COVID-19 vaccines, these solutions are also applicable in the production of other treatments and therapeutics.
John Lynch, vice president of Life Sciences at Entegris, said, “Our capabilities and expertise have translated exceptionally well to the life sciences industry. We are proud to be partnering with biopharmaceutical companies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic by providing the cleanest and most robust bioprocessing assembly solutions on the market. The success of the Aramus™ bioprocessing assembly, due to its distinctive features for handling frozen bulk drug substances, has paved the way to better support novel biologic therapies of the future.”
In addition to the Aramus 2D bag product line, Entegris provides other clean, scalable, and reliable bioprocessing solutions capable of reducing validation time, development costs, and time-to-market. Products include specialty and fine chemicals, fluid management technologies, particle characterization, liquid packaging, process analytics, filtration, and purification.
