VGXI’s New Headquarters and Manufacturing Facility, Conroe, Texas

VGXI, a wholly-owned manufacturing subsidiary of GeneOne Life Science, opened its new headquarters and greenfield biomanufacturing facility at Deison Technology Park in Conroe, Texas.

The project helps to meet the rising demand for its high-quality plasmid DNA for vaccines and gene therapies, as well as to produce more urgent vaccine solutions.

VGXI held a ground-breaking ceremony for the project in November 2020, with the final steel beam set in place for the building in April 2021.

The project reached multiple construction milestones, including completion of the exterior and installation of major equipment at the facility, in October 2021.

VGXI officially inaugurated the new facility in October 2022.

Location

The new headquarters and manufacturing facility of VGXI is developed on a 21.5-acre land located within Deison Technology Park in Conroe, Texas, which was bought in August 2020.

The land purchase agreement includes an option to acquire a further 21 acres for future expansion. Conroe worked in collaboration with the Conroe Economic Development Council to develop the facility in the park.

VGXI’s headquarters were shifted from Research Forest Drive in The Woodlands to Conroe, Texas.

Details of VGXI’s Conroe headquarters and manufacturing facility

VGXI’s new headquarters and manufacturing facility has an area of 120,000ft^² (11,148.36m^²) facility. It has a modular design concept, which allows for future growth and expansion while meeting the stringent safety, containment and current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) requirements.

Designed to expand VGXI’s manufacturing capabilities, the facility features multiple flexible production suites ranging from 40l to 500l to support both cGMP DNA and RNA-based biopharmaceutical production at all phases of development through to commercialisation.

In addition, the facility is equipped with four independent manufacturing trains and suites, which increased VGXI’s fermentation capacity from 500l to 1,500l.

The facility includes a two-level building featuring high-hood-density laboratories, other laboratories, pharmaceutical cleanrooms and space to carry out processes such as purification, filling, packaging and storage.

It also features corporate office space, conferencing facilities, break-out rooms, an employee library, a training room and other associated amenities.

The facility provides the flexibility to support diverse biopharmaceutical projects from clinical trials to commercialisation. Its micro-processing suites and dedicated areas support mRNA manufacturing and small-scale projects.

The facility is also equipped with mechanical equipment such as air handlers, process chillers and a sterile water filtration system. A full site backup generation system is installed at the facility for an uninterrupted power supply, independent of the electrical grid.

Funding

The city of Conroe approved a $1.2m incentive for the project’s development in December 2019.

Contractors involved

Integrated construction services provider BE&K Building was selected as the design-build partner for the project in December 2019.

Hanbury, a planning, architecture, and interior design company, was the architectural partner for the project, while Hipp Engineering & Consulting, an engineering and architecture firm, was the engineering partner. Hanbury designed the complex custom-built tilt wall panels for the facility.

Kimley-Horn, an engineering planning and design consulting firm, provided civil engineering, structural engineering and permitting services.

TW Hicks, an industrial flooring solutions provider, installed a resinous flooring system at VGXI’s new facility.

Marketing commentary on VGXI

Founded in 1997, VGXI is a full-service contract development and manufacturing organisation based in the US. The company produces high-purity DNA plasmids for pre-clinical research, highly documented DNA plasmids for virus production and toxicology studies and cGMP DNA plasmids for clinical trials through marketing.

VGXI’s patented manufacturing process, flexible cGMP production facility and experienced development team enable it to offer custom manufacturing solutions and services. The company’s patented AIRMIX^® lysis technology enables high-purity, highly concentrated plasmid formulations from 1mg/ml to 15mg/ml, allowing customers to prepare low-volume and multi-plasmid formulations.

The company has produced more than 175 batches of clinical-grade DNA for clinical trials in the US, Europe, Asia, Canada and Australia. Its cGMP and non-GMP products have passed rigorous reviews from several international regulatory agencies.

VGXI completed the manufacturing and supply of the Covid-19 DNA vaccine in April 2020. The company also develops DNA vaccines for other viruses such as Zika, Ebola and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).