Bio-Techne expands manufacturing in St. Paul.

Byline: Brian Johnson

In an effort to boost production of materials used in cell and gene therapy, Minneapolis-based life sciences company Bio-Techne Corp. is spending up to $50 million to create a new manufacturing facility in St. Paul.

The company is renovating space in its building at 22 Empire St. for the new facility. The project recently started, and production is expected to begin in mid-2021, company officials said Monday.

Bio-Techne says it's investing $40 million to $50 million in the project.

"The investment covers the initial building investment as well as the equipment necessary for production," company spokesman David Clair said in an email.

Bio-Techne paid $3.05 million for the 54,000-square-foot building last summer, according to a certificate of real estate value. The seller, Molex LLC, designs, develops and manufactures electronic components.

The building, constructed in 1986, is bordered by Jackson Street, Pennsylvania Avenue and Empire Drive and is a mile from the State Capitol. It offers 46,500 square feet of manufacturing space and 7,500 square feet of office space, according to a listing by CBRE.

In August, the city of St. Paul issued three building permits to McGough Construction for remodeling work at 22 Empire Drive, according to city records. The permits have a combined value of $600,000.

About 20 "highly skilled employees" will work at the facility to start, Clair said. The majority of the employees will come from Bio-Techne's existing workforce in Minneapolis, he said. BioTechne has a 160,000-square-foot location at 614 McKinley Place NE in Minneapolis.

Clair said the St. Paul project is needed to "meet forecasted demand for GMP [good manufacturing practices] proteins" as more cell and gene therapies gain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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