The facility will more than double Agilent’s capacity for manufacturing synthetic oligonucleotides (oligos), which are short DNA and RNA molecules that serve as the active ingredients for drugs used to treat cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other rare and infectious diseases.

Two new lines (Trains C and D) will be added, enabling Agilent to meet rising demand for oligos. A Train B manufacturing line, announced in 2020 and costing about $150 million, will start up later this year. The Frederick site has been in operation since June 2019.

“One of our strategic priorities is to help existing and new biopharma customers develop, globally commercialize, and accelerate growth of oligo-based therapeutics,” said Sam Raha, president of Agilent’s Diagnostics and Genomics Group. “This additional capacity will enable us to meet strong demand for siRNA and antisense molecules and also significantly increase the number of CRISPR guide RNA programs we can take on.”  

According to Agilent, the market for therapeutic oligos is currently estimated at $1 billion and is projected to grow at double digit rates annually over the next five years, reaching $2.4 billion in 2027.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist