Governor Gina M. Raimondo today announced that Amgen, a world-leading biotechnology company, will expand in Rhode Island, with a new $160-million next-generation biomanufacturing plant that will be the first of its kind in the United States. The facility, which will produce approximately 150 new highly-skilled manufacturing jobs, will be supported by incentives from Rhode Island’s innovative toolkit of economic development programs.
“I am thrilled that Amgen is planning to expand and bring new, highly skilled jobs to Rhode Island and further enhance the State’s life sciences community and manufacturing expertise,” said Governor Gina M. Raimondo. “We welcome Amgen’s future health care advancements for patients around the world that will come from this new biomanufacturing plant.”
Amgen’s new biomanufacturing plant will be built on the current Amgen Rhode Island 75-acre campus in West Greenwich and is expected to create approximately 150 additional highly-skilled manufacturing positions with the potential for up to 300 in the coming years. In addition, the project will create hundreds of construction and validation jobs. The new plant will employ Amgen’s proven next-generation biomanufacturing capabilities and manufacture products for the U.S. and global markets. Amgen currently employs 625 full-time employees in Rhode Island.
“We are excited that Amgen Rhode Island was chosen as the location to build the new biomanufacturing plant,” said Tia Bush, vice president of Operations at Amgen Rhode Island. “It is a testament to our skilled, dedicated workforce and Amgen’s continued presence in Rhode Island, which will enable ongoing collaborations with local academic institutions and the broader Rhode Island community.”
To support this project, the Board of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation today approved tax credits through the Rebuild Rhode Island tax credit program and the Qualified Jobs Incentive Act. The value of the Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credit is $2.2 million. There is potential for Amgen to receive an additional $1.25 million upon meeting established performance metrics. The estimated value of the Qualified Jobs tax credits is $600,000 per year over 10 years. The credits are only paid out after the jobs are created and employees have paid income tax for a full year. The company will also be eligible for a sales tax rebate on construction materials. According to Appleseed, a third party economic analysis firm, this project is projected to add 3.7M in net revenue to the state over the 12-year commitment period.
“Amgen is a global company with options,” said Rhode Island Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor. “Rhode Island competed to be the location for the company’s ‘next-generation’ biomanufacturing facility and we were successful because of our skilled talent, ideal location, and potent incentives. This is the 24th company that has expanded or landed in the Ocean State under Governor Raimondo’s leadership. Our state has momentum and we must continue our efforts until all Rhode Islanders feel the economic progress we are achieving.”
Twenty-four companies have relocated to Rhode Island or expanded their existing Rhode Island operations using the Qualified Jobs Tax Credit Program. The State’s real estate investment programs are investing in 32 development projects that are creating approximately 6,000 construction jobs and injecting more than $1 billion dollars of investment into Rhode Island. Appleseed estimates that combined these projects will add nearly $600 million dollars annually to the state’s GDP.
The next-generation biomanufacturing plant Amgen plans to build incorporates multiple innovative technologies into a single facility, and therefore is built in half the construction time with approximately one half of the operating cost required of a traditional plant. Next-generation biomanufacturing plants require a smaller manufacturing footprint and offer greater environmental benefits, including reduced consumption of water, energy and lower levels of carbon emissions.
