Agilent Technologies to invest $150m to expand oligos production facility

Agilent Technologies said that it will invest nearly $150 million for the expansion of its oligos production facility in Frederick, Colorado, for increased production of nucleic acid-based therapeutics.

The facility, which will be expanded by 25,000 square feet, currently develops and manufactures short DNA and RNA molecules called oligos, which are used for creating nucleic acid-based drugs.

Agilent Technologies had opened the 135,000 square feet oligos production plant in Frederick in June 2019 with an investment of $185 million.

According to Agilent Technologies, Oligos have the potential for their use in developing treatments for cancer, COVID-19, rare and infectious diseases, cardiovascular disease, and other conditions.

The expansion at the oligos production facility is expected to more than double the present capacity for manufacturing therapeutic oligos at the Frederick facility.

Agilent Technologies opened the $185m oligos production facility in Frederick in June 2019. Photo courtesy of Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Agilent Technologies said that it anticipates the supplier market for therapeutic oligos to surpass $750 million in 2025 with estimated double-digit annual growth over the coming five years. The company said that the addition of the higher-volume manufacturing line will help it in addressing the increasing demand from major pharma and biotech companies.

Customer shipments from the new production line are likely to start by the end of 2022, said Agilent Technologies.

Sam Raha – president of Agilent Technologies Diagnostics and Genomics Group, commenting on the oligos production facility, said: “We are excited about the ongoing growth of the therapeutic oligo market and the continued strong interest in our oligo contract development and manufacturing organization services from existing and potential new customers.

“Adding this higher-volume line enables us to keep pace with demand while continuing to deliver a premium product with superior customer service. As a leading oligo manufacturer for more than 20 years, Agilent is uniquely qualified to support this critical and growing biopharma industry segment.”