ATCC expanding presence in Prince William County

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday that American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) plans to expand its bioresource center campus in Prince William County, investing $54.7 million and creating an expected 75 jobs. The project will include a new biomanufacturing facility focused on global health.

“ATCC is a world-class resource for scientists performing vital research to solve important health issues,” Youngkin said in a statement. “They are a crucial component to Virginia’s thriving life sciences industry, and I am thrilled to see them invest in Virginia again.”

Founded in 1925, ATCC built its headquarters in Prince William’s Innovation Park in 1998. The nonprofit organization supports the sciences by maintaining the world’s largest and most diverse collection of human and animal cell products, as well as molecular genomic tools, microbe products and biological materials, according to the governor’s announcement.

Among its clients are the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture and the World Health Organization. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the county to secure the project, and Youngkin approved $800,000 from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund. The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, created by VEDP, will provide training and recruitment services at no cost to ATCC.

“For almost 100 years, ATCC has played an important role in delivering credible biological materials that advance scientific research and address the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and spread of disease,” said ATCC Chairman and CEO Raymond H. Cypess. “This new state-of-the-art biomanufacturing facility will enable ATCC to expand its resources to meet current and future global health and national security needs, and we are grateful to have received this grant to continue expanding our presence in Virginia as a top-rated life science employer.”

ATCC’s new facility will be dedicated to “the acquisition, manufacture, characterization, authentication, storage and distribution of key reagents,” which will give government agencies more capacity to address “emerging and endemic pathogens” in the event of another pandemic, the organization said in its own announcement.

“Currently, biomanufacturing facilities similar to our new suite are primarily focused on research rather than supply chain logistics and the operational infrastructure needed to launch an immediate response to a potential threat,” Cypess said. “As we continue to play a critical role in the federal government’s pandemic preparedness and readiness, this facility will allow us to scale production of biomaterials quickly and because of its location, distribute them both nationally and globally during a health crisis.”