City of Vacaville and Polaris Pharmaceuticals
Vacaville Mayor Ron Rowlett (right) meets with Vacaville’s Polaris Pharmaceuticals Principal Engineer Mary Scomona, Business Development Manager Jose Ortiz and Facility Director Matt Mitchell (left to right), to congratulate them in expanding their operations in the Vaca Valley Business Park.
Vaca Valley Business Park
Map of the Vaca Valley Business Park identifying Vacaville Biomanufacturing sites in 2022.
VACAVILLE, Calif., Jan. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Polaris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Vacaville has purchased 15 acres in the City of Vacaville’s Vaca Valley Business Park, a transaction that represents another advancement in the City’s plans to expand its biotechnology footprint and solidify itself as a global center for biomanufacturing. Polaris Pharmaceuticals Vacaville, a part of the Polaris Group family, is planning to build a complete state of the art biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility. “We are excited to expand our manufacturing and process research capabilities in Vacaville,” said Chris Huxsoll, Senior Vice President of Operations of Polaris Pharmaceuticals. “The City of Vacaville has been a great partner over the years, and that was one of the key considerations in our decision to expand operations here.” “Polaris represents the type of biomanufacturer we envisioned locating in Vacaville when we took action to grow our biomanufacturing hub,” said Vacaville Mayor Ron Rowlett. “We will work with Polaris through our Biotechnology Fast Track permitting program to get this new facility up and operational as quickly as possible, and we will continue to connect them to the resources they need to be successful in Vacaville.” In October 2020, the City of Vacaville announced the start of the next generation of its world class biomanufacturing cluster with the identification of 300 acres available for development. Capable of an estimated 3 million additional square feet of biomanufacturing, this space houses the Polaris acquisition and the recently announced Agenus Inc. Acquisition, a Lexington, Massachusetts-based biotech company who recently purchased 120 acres to build a 72 acre biomanufacturing campus. “Vacaville has been successful in positioning itself as a viable location for biomanufacturing and our team is very proud to represent Polaris,” said Eric Dakin, Managing Broker at Dakin and Dakin Commercial Real Estate Services. “This will be the second biopharma firm to expand operations in Vacaville. The Polaris site is at the intersection of Interstates 80 and 505, adjacent to the Genentech facility.” “Polaris has already proven to be a terrific partner. The company has expressed its commitment to the community and its willingness to lead as part of a new generation of biomanufacturers in the city,” said Don Burrus, Director of Economic Development Services. “This investment validates the city’s vision for biomanufacturing,” he said. About Polaris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.A member of the Polaris Group Family of Companies, Polaris Pharmaceuticals in Vacaville was founded in 2002. A cGMP facility was built for biologics in 2005 and has been providing Pegargiminase for all clinical studies for over 10 years. As a CMO, Polaris manufactures cGMP grade biologics for a biotech companies to conduct clinical studies throughout the world. Polaris Group is a multinational biotechnology company focused on developing novel anti-cancer therapies. Polaris Group is involved in every stage of the drug development process and has a family of companies that harnesses structure-based drug design technology to create novel oncology therapies, conduct clinical studies at top-tier cancer centers worldwide and operates cGMP Production Facilities in Northern California and Asia. About City of VacavilleThe City of Vacaville is located 50 miles northeast of San Francisco along Interstate 80 between the University of California Berkeley and Davis campuses. Vacaville is a vibrant community in one of the fastest growing areas of the nation and has become home to some of the largest and most successful life-science companies in the world, including Genentech, Polaris, Alza, and Chiron. Its location makes it one of California’s most attractive family communities. Vacaville has been a center for biomanufacturing since the 1980s. It gained recognition as a world-class biotechnology center in 1994 when Genentech acquired land for its biologics manufacturing facility, touted as one of the largest biotech drug manufacturing complexes in the world. Contact:Joanna LealPublic Relations Manager(707) 301-9559Joanna.leal@cityofvacaville.com Photos accompanying this announcement are available athttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3f1de21a-c50f-473e-8f54-99976e2e7d9b https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9565e683-b28c-4e2e-8ddf-3741fb664af4