Genetic medicine company Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals will establish operations in Verona, Wis., with a $220 million project that is expected to create 230 jobs. The two new buildings will complement the company’s existing 111,000-square-foot R&D facility in Madison, Wis., reports the business publication Area Development.
One building will be a 125,000-square-foot laboratory and office facility that will support process development and analytical activities. The second is an approximately 160,000-square-foot GMP drug manufacturing facility.
“We have seen firsthand the tremendous value that the Wisconsin biotech ecosystem can afford a nimble and aggressive company like Arrowhead,” said Christopher Anzalone, Ph.D., president and CEO of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals. “The local community has supported us graciously over the last decade, so we look forward to this expansion contributing to the further growth in the region as we work to make medicines with a potential global impact.”
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is assisting Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals with $2.5 million in performance-based business development tax credits, which the company will receive if it meets or exceeds job creation and capital investment goals by the end of 2026. The city of Verona is also assisting the project with up to $16 million in tax incremental financing for site improvements, reports Area Development
“WEDC is pleased to partner with Arrowhead because they have the potential to transform health care, and all of our lives, through innovation, persistence, and collaboration,” said Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of WEDC. “Arrowhead joins a growing list of biopharmaceutical companies that have chosen to locate in Wisconsin because of the strategic investments our state has made in worker education and training, infrastructure, and strong communities in recent years.”
Based in Pasadena, Calif., Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals is developing new medicines for intractable diseases by silencing the genes that cause them. It does this by tapping into a process called RNA interference, or RNAi. RNAi is a mechanism present in living cells that inhibits the expression of a specific gene, thereby affecting the production of a specific protein.