Pharmaceutical development and manufacturing company Boehringer Ingelheim will invest $57 million to expand its Animal Health Global Innovation Center in Athens, GA. The Germany-based company will create 55 new jobs, increase laboratory space, and bring additional research and development capabilities and activities to the site.
As a research-driven pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim focuses on three business areas: Human Pharma, Animal Health, and Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing. The company manufactures vaccines, parasite-control products, and therapeutics for pets, horses, and livestock.
“Our new and expanded space has been specifically designed to encourage closer connections between teams and colleagues. After working in a distanced or virtual manner for so many months, we all have a much greater appreciation for the power of both formal and spontaneous collaboration,” explained Caroline Belmont, US Head of Global Innovation. “The significant investment in expanding and enhancing our Athens Global Innovation site will provide not only a comfortable and flexible physical space that inspires collaboration, but also will bring many new tools and technologies to spark the innovation that will ultimately help improve animal and human wellbeing.”
Construction has begun on the new 63,000-square-foot facility, which will connect two existing buildings currently housing laboratory and administrative space, along with a 5,000-square-foot expansion and partial renovation of existing Global Innovation facilities in Athens. The new facility is slated to be complete in spring 2024. When complete, the expansion will bring Boehringer Ingelheim’s Global Innovation footprint in Athens to nearly 115,000 square feet and accommodate an additional 55 R&D positions.
“Boehringer Ingelheim has been a fantastic member of our Georgia Life Sciences community, and we are so excited to see them continue to choose Georgia to grow,” said Governor Brian P. Kemp. “Georgia’s university system provides the talent life science companies want, and our pro-business environment combined with our commitment to innovation continues to create opportunities for hardworking Georgians across the state.”
Numerous sustainable features will be included in the new Global Innovation facility, including natural light in offices, laboratories, and collaboration spaces, with floor to ceiling windows in many areas. Construction debris will be segregated to facilitate recycling or disposal as appropriate.
“Boehringer Ingelheim’s expansion in Athens-Clarke County demonstrates their ongoing commitment to innovation, engagement, and talent development in our community that reflects the company’s global leadership in animal and human health,” said Mayor Kelly Girtz. “Boehringer Ingelheim recognizes the strength of Athens-Clarke County as a bioscience and research hub with vibrant quality of life, and we look forward to our continued collaboration.”
Since 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim has invested more than $100 million in its Georgia facilities and grown its employment in the state by more than 200, including its vaccine-manufacturing and research site in Athens, its U.S. headquarters office in Duluth, and its poultry vaccine-manufacturing site in Gainesville. The company employs a total of more than 1,200 people in Georgia. Boehringer Ingelheim’s Animal Health business has grown to encompass seven sites, including three in Georgia.
“Through the successful growth and addition of companies like Boehringer Ingelheim, Georgia continues to establish itself as a growing hub for research and innovation within the life sciences industry,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development’s (GDEcD) Commissioner Pat Wilson. “Boehringer Ingelheim has long been an important part of our life sciences community in Georgia, leveraging innovative connections and resources across the University System of Georgia to perform cutting-edge research into the prevention and treatment of animal diseases. It is always exciting to celebrate growth within an important existing industry, but even more gratifying when the work being done in Georgia could potentially have such a far reaching impact.”
