CSL Behring, a leading provider of medications for treating hemophilia and other biopharmaceutical therapies, recently initiated plans for an expansion that could total 1.8 million square feet in Kankakee, Illinois. The new facility will reside on 74 acres of recently acquired property and could take as long as 12 years to complete. The land cost alone was $17 million.
Exact investment numbers, in terms of cost and jobs created, are not yet known. However, the company is wrapping up work on a 300,000 square-foot, seven-story manufacturing structure that cost an estimated $240 million. The current site, which has been in place for more than 60 years, employs more than 1,400 workers.
The expansion stems from an increasing need for the company’s current medications, as well as for new treatments being developed for blood loss and burns. In addition to new structures emanating from the current site, buildings included in the land purchase will also be retrofitted.
Although the company would like to move quicker, regulatory requirements attached to equipment and facilities associated with pharmaceutical production need approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as from other regulatory agencies. These approvals will contribute significantly to the project’s timeline and end cost.