VGXI Groundbreaking

November 10, 2020

BE&K Building Group Breaks Ground for Plasmid DNA Manufacturer VGXI for New Conroe-based Manufacturing Facility

BE&K Building Group (BE&K) held a groundbreaking ceremony on November 10, 2020 for VGXI’s future greenfield headquarters and biomanufacturing facility in Conroe, Texas. The milestone event was hosted in accordance with CDC COVID-19 guidelines, with attendance limited to select members of BE&K’s and VGXI’s executive and leadership teams, along with other key project team members and collaborators. Dignitaries in attendance included U.S. Representative for Texas’ 8th congressional district Kevin Brady, Consul General Myungsoo Ahn of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Houston, and City of Conroe Mayor Pro Tem Duke Coon.

The initial phase of the 120,000 plus square-foot project will quintuple the company’s current production capacity. The new headquarters will have two levels providing much needed space for laboratories, purification, filling, packaging, warehousing, and process support. It will also provide measurable office and conference space with associated amenities to accommodate VGXI’s recent and future growth.

“Today represents a major milestone in VGXI’s mission-driven commitment to revolutionize the global pharmaceutical community by providing the highest quality DNA products and services,” shared VGXI CEO Young Park. “This bold new frontier in medicinal therapy holds endless possibilities for patient treatment. VGXI is extremely proud of all this day represents for the company and the future of DNA immunotherapy and similar gene-based therapies.”

Multiple manufacturing trains and production suites will be incorporated into this initial phase of construction with flexibility provided to support a wide range of biopharma projects from early clinical trials through commercial supply production. The facility will also include micro-processing suites for small-scale projects and dedicated suites to support cGMP DNA- and RNA-based biopharmaceutical manufacturing at all phases of development.

“BE&K is proud to be partnering with VGXI and our team members to produce this state-of-the-art facility,” said BE&K President and CEO Frank Holley. “Never before has the need for revolutionary therapies and vaccines been greater. Our team is honored that we can contribute in a meaningful way to the long-term health of our global community.”

BE&K is the design-builder of record, in partnership with architectural partner Hanbury and engineering partner Hipp Engineering & Consulting. Substantial completion of the new facility is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2021 with the initial phase of the facility expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2022.

VGXI, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GeneOne Life Science, Inc., is a leading provider of manufacturing and development services for vaccines and gene therapies.