BeiGene breaks ground on 6th US location in Hopewell (updated)

Last November, BeiGene Ltd. acquired a 42-acre site at the Princeton West Innovation Campus in Hopewell. On April 29, the global biotechnology company celebrates the groundbreaking for its flagship U.S. manufacturing and clinical research and redevelopment center at the Princeton West Innovation Campus.

“Our planned flagship U.S. R&D and manufacturing center supports our commitment to fight for life for people living with cancer around the world, through state-of-the-art commercial-stage biologic pharmaceutical manufacturing, late-stage research and clinical development capabilities,” said BeiGene co-founder, Chairman and CEO John Oyler in a statement.

Oyler is expected to be joined by Gov. Phil Murphy and Hopewell Mayor Courtney Peters-Manning to celebrate the milestone. According to the company, the first phase of construction at the site should include approximately 400,000 square feet of dedicated commercial-stage biologic pharmaceutical manufacturing space. When it was announced last year, work was projected to be completed by 2024.

“The Princeton-Hopewell area is an excellent location for BeiGene and the thriving life science community, with a deep talent pool as we continue to advance our pipeline of innovative cancer medicines and work to diversify our global supply chain,” Oyler added.

And that talent pool is an important factor for the company, which says it plans to recruit hundreds of new hires from the area to support the company’s growth.

“BeiGene’s plans for hundreds of new jobs in New Jersey speak to our efforts to grow our state’s business-friendly environment and to our commitment to fostering innovation,” Murphy said before the ceremony. “We are proud to welcome BeiGene to the Princeton area and look forward to the company manufacturing innovative cancer medicines in its new state-of-the-art facility.”

The site also has growth baked into its plans: According to BeiGene, the property offers more than 1 million square feet of developable real estate.

DPR Construction, which has an office in Edison, has been retained as construction management firm for the project, with IPS serving as architectural and engineering firm.

“As a leader with a long history in New Jersey’s biotech industry, Hopewell Township welcomes BeiGene to our community,” Manning said. “We are pleased that BeiGene will bring their state-of-the-art technologies, manufacturing, and R&D center to Hopewell, whose products will help countless people all over the world. We look forward to continuing to work with BeiGene and are excited about what will be produced here in Hopewell.”

BeiGene has another New Jersey location in Ridgefield Park and four additional offices in the U.S. in San Mateo and Emeryville, Calif.; Cambridge, Mass.; and Fulton, Md. Worldwide, the company has more than 30 offices on five continents.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. May 4 with a slideshow of photos from the April 29 groundbreaking.