NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[KaOsiris]

Cognate BioServices plans $212M investment in Memphis ops

Memphis Business Journal



By Greg Akers
Editor-in-Chief, Memphis Business Journal
Nov 13, 2020, 3:04pm CST
Updated 26 minutes ago

A bioscience company with a large local presence is planning a new investment that would create hundreds of jobs and see three industrial sites receive major renovations and new construction.

Cognate BioServices Inc. plans to renovate three properties for "cell-therapy operations, contract development, and manufacturing for drug sponsors, and related logistics."

The company is seeking a 15-year Jobs PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) from the Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) for Memphis and Shelby County. The incentive would be worth $52 million, and be based on a $212 million project investment.

The investment would include $126 million in construction costs and $71 million in personal property. It covers sites at 4600 E. Shelby Drive, 5780 E. Shelby Drive, and 6100 Global Drive.

According to the EDGE summary, the project will create 561 jobs, with an average annual wage of $63,749. The expansion would see the construction of new cell-therapy "clean room" suites, and warehousing, which would make for a significant increase in its manufacturing capacity.

Cognate is a contract developer and manufacturer of advanced cell and gene therapies. About a year ago, it got a capital infusion to acquire a UK biosciences firm. That deal helped position the company to be directly involved in the development of two COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

Cognate's EDGE application says the company also recently "manufactured the product for the world's largest clinical trial for a treatment for glioblastoma multiforme, considered the most aggressive form of brain cancer."

Its clients include AstraZeneca, Atara Biotherapeutics Inc. and Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc.

Companywide, it has 568 employees, with 287 located at its current location at 4600 E. Shelby, which it established in 2007.

The PILOT made Memphis a more attractive site for this project versus Baltimore and Dallas, the application said.

Cognate is planning for a possible second phase of the project, with a further expansion and investment, but this PILOT would only cover phase one. But, the application said, "The two phases are integrally linked." Phase two could be proposed by Dec. 1, 2024, and see the development of another three sites, at 6099 Global Drive along with parcels on Distriplex Farms and Crumpler Road. All told, phase two could be comprised of a capital investment between $147 million and $300 million and the creation of another 250 to 550 jobs, with average wages of $50,000 to $65,000.

Phase one details:

4600 E. Shelby Drive: $30 million in construction of new clean room suites and manufacturing support areas. A quarter of the facility's existing 88,000 square feet would be renovated for the new uses. By 2024, 230 net new jobs would be located here. The owner of the building is Thomson Logistics Assets LLC.
5780 E. Shelby Drive: Cognate would relocate the warehousing it does at 4600 E. Shelby to this new location. It would occupy 50,000 square feet of space, including new office buildout, for a total improvement cost of $2 million. It would net 10 new jobs by 2024. The owner of the property is A.L. Dougherty - Tennessee LLC.
6100 Global Drive: This new location for Cognate would contain new clean room suites and more manufacturing support areas, which would entail $94 million in improvement costs. The company would take over 123,000 square feet of existing improvements there, and would also benefit from new construction improvements. At this location, 321 net new jobs would be created by 2024. The owner is Exeter 6100 Global LLC.

Cognate is being represented by the Memphis law firm Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston. The application will go before the EDGE board on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
Companies In This Article

Cognate BioServices Inc.

Memphis, TN

Biotechnology

520 Employees

See full profile