Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) company has completed the land purchase of an approximately 89-acre site from MassDevelopment for its new large-scale multi-product bulk biologics manufacturing facility in Devens, Massachusetts.

The company and MassDevelopment have also finalized agreements related to the facility's utility infrastructure, including waste water treatment and use of electricity, water and natural gas. Construction is expected to begin within the next several weeks, and the facility is projected to be operationally complete in 2009. The company plans to submit the site for regulatory approval in 2010.

The new Devens manufacturing facility is expected to support increased production capacity for commercially available biologic compounds, such as Orencia (abatacept), and help meet future production needs of biologic compounds currently in development, including the company's investigational treatments for solid organ transplant rejection and certain types of cancers.

Bristol-Myers Squibb currently manufactures biologic compounds in a company-owned facility in Syracuse, NY, and finishes and packages biologic compounds in Manati, Puerto Rico. The company also has several partnerships with third-party manufacturers. These internal and external biologics resources remain important components of the company's overall strategy to expand its biologics portfolio.

Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global pharmaceutical and related health care products company whose mission is to extend and enhance human life.