Agilent Technologies Inc. on Wednesday said its expansion to Frederick is part of a $120 million investment to double its capacity to manufacture ingredients that could be used to treat cancer.
The Santa Clara, Calif., life sciences firm announced and said it was necessary because the company was out of space in Boulder. The expansion would add 150 to 200 jobs to the region that pay an average of $77,206.
The $120 million includes the purchase of the 20 acres located on Lot 1 in Eagle Business Park in Frederick. Agilent plans to build 130,000-square-foot plant there. The company received at least $5.4 million of growth and tax incentives from local and state agencies if goals are met. The Town of Frederick approved a 50 percent reduction in Agilent’s personal property tax for 10 years, plus offered building permit discounts and sales tax rebates.
Agilent shared the update during its third quarter earnings report on Wednesday. Agilent, which spun off from Hewlett-Packard in 2000, said revenues grew 3 percent from a year ago to $1.04 billion, while net income rose 12 percent to $124 million.
The expansion is part of Agilent’s Nucleic Acid Solutions business, which makes nucleic acid active pharmaceutical ingredients. The synthesized ingredients, or oligonucleotides, are part of an emerging class of drugs that use nucleic acid molecules in disease therapy and have the potential to treat various forms of cancer, diabetes, muscular dystrophy and other disorders, the company said.
