EVERETT – When economic development leaders helped convince Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories USA that Snohomish County was a good location for a biomedical research facility, the company employed just a couple of dozen people.
That was just four years ago. Now, SNBL has more than 250 employees and plans to double its laboratory space and work force in south Everett.
During the next five to 10 years, SNBL could grow to 1,000 employees at its local facility, company spokesman John Wilson said.
“They considered other sites both nationally and regionally, and they concluded it was easiest to expand where they were,” he said.
Which was music to the ears of city officials.
“SNBL USA’s desire to stay in Everett and expand … is an opportunity toward creating a truly diverse economy here,” Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson said in a statement.
The division of Japan’s Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories Ltd. spent $3.5 million to buy 29 undeveloped acres for the expansion. Early next year, the company plans to put up a 100,000-square-foot addition to the existing 110,000-square-foot building at 6605 Merrill Creek Parkway.
“It’s adjacent to the existing site, and it gives them the option to tailor and phase their expansion,” Wilson said. “This will allow them to grow at the pace they can accommodate.”
So far, that pace has been fast.
“There’s so much work being done in the biotech field and the biomedical field, this is just demand-driven,” he said.
SNBL does the sometimes tedious and unglamorous pre-clinical work that goes into developing new drugs. For that reason, other biotechnology and drug companies contract SNBL to do that research.
Researchers in Everett have conducted early stage studies on drugs designed to treat AIDS, cancer, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes.
Customers of the firm include Washington’s largest biotech companies, as well as others nationally, Wilson said. In addition to the Everett facility, SNBL has offices near Boston and Baltimore.
Shin Nippon, the parent company, has operated in Japan since 1957. It was a well-regarded research company before coming to the United States.
When SNBL opened its first facility in Everett four years ago, it caught the attention of animal rights activists because of the company’s testing of potential new drugs on primates.
The company has said it treats monkeys and other animals imported from a breeding farm in China humanely. It also is a voluntary member of the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, which promotes good care for testing animals.
SNBL’s expansion would add to Snohomish County’s expanding cluster of biotech and medical-related businesses. ICOS Corp. in Bothell has become the largest biotech company in Washington. Berlex Inc. announced in June that it will build a $60 million drug manufacturing plant in Lynnwood.
SNBL’s announcement may give new credence to the efforts of city and council economic development officials to pay attention to companies already here in addition to wooing new ones.
“I believe we will see future job growth coming mainly from businesses that already operate in Everett and expand here,” Stephanson said.
Deborah Knutson, president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council, added that the local expansion plans by SNBL USA and Berlex give the area more exposure.
“This is showing the world where Snohomish County is,” Knutson said. “I do mean the world, since SNBL does work for companies internationally.”
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories USA’s new addition will nearly double the size of its research facility in south Everett.
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