Rubius Therapeutics breaks ground on $155 million new
pharmaceutical manufacturing facility at the old Alexion factory in Smithfield

Smithfield, RI Governor Gina Raimondo joined Rubius Therapeutics CEO Pablo Cagnoni, M.D., and state and local officials to break ground on a new pharmaceutical manufacturing facility at the old Alexion factory at 100 Technology Way. Founded in 2013, Rubius Therapeutics is developing treatments for cancer and other diseases using a new technology it calls Red Cell Therapeutics. Once completed, the 135,000 s/f facility will support 160 new, high-skilled jobs in manufacturing, biotech operations and other support functions. Rubius plans to invest up to $155 million over about five years to renovate an existing building. The project is supported by incentives from Rhode Island’s innovative toolkit of economic development programs.

“This is more outstanding news for Rhode Island. I’m thrilled that Rubius has decided to invest here, adding to the growing list of companies bringing highly-skilled jobs to our state,” Raimondo said.

According to Appleseed, a third party economic analysis firm, the manufacturing facility planned by Rubius is projected to add $6.34 million in net revenue to the state over the 12-year commitment period and increase the state’s GDP by $28.1 million annually. 

“We are very pleased that Rubius Therapeutics has broken ground on its new advanced manufacturing facility,” said R.I. Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor. “Rubius joins companies such as Amgen, Johnson & Johnson, and EpiVax in our flourishing bioscience ecosystem. We congratulate Rubius on this milestone and look forward to the company’s success here.”

Twenty-eight companies have relocated to Rhode Island or expanded their existing Rhode Island operations using the Qualified Jobs Tax Credit Program. The state’s real estate investment programs are investing in 33 development projects that are creating approximately 8,000 construction jobs and injecting more than $2 billion of investment into Rhode Island. 

The project team includes Genesis Engineers and A/Z Corp.

Rubius, based in Cambridge, Mass., plans to open the building in 2020.