Spokane-based pharmaceutical manufacturing and packaging company Jubilant HollisterStier LLC has opened its third sterile finish manufacturing line and broken ground on the next phase of its facility expansion in East Spokane.

In total, the projects are valued at $285 million. 

Chris Preti, president and CEO of Jubilant HollisterStier, says the $92 million third line represents the company’s commitment to advancing vaccine preparedness on a national scale for future pandemics.

“We asked ourselves how we can deliver 60 million doses in three or four months if we need to or another situation like the recent pandemic happens again,” he says.

The 50,000-square-foot expansion includes a new high-speed commercial finish line capable of delivering 400 vials per minute and increasing production capacity by 55 million units annually. The line is equipped with isolator technology enabling high levels of sterility and 100% weight-checking capabilities at production speed. The line also features two 300-square-foot freeze dryers called lyophilizers, and three compounding suites.

Jubilant HollisterStier is a wholly-owned subsidiary of India-based pharmaceutical company Jubilant Pharmova Ltd.

Prakash Gupta, Seattle-based consulate general of India, who Petri describes as a key link between U.S. and Indian business relations, was present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony held at the Spokane plant, which is located at 3525 N. Regal. 

Gupta notes that during the pandemic, the U.S. and India worked together to produce vaccines, and that relationship remains important in maintaining healthy supply chains.

“Our countries work together using Indian vaccines with U.S. expertise to deliver to several landscapes in the Pacific, Indo-Pacific, and many other countries,” he says.

With the start of its next $193 million phase of expansion, Jubilant HollisterStier plans to double its injectable filling production capacity by 2025. As previously reported in the Journal, the project will add 160,000 square feet to the facility and feature a flexible manufacturing platform able to produce several types of vaccines.

Together with the just-completed phase, the expansions are expected to add 450 jobs to the Spokane facility. The company currently employs about 750 people and ranks as the second-largest manufacturer in the Journal's latest list of Leading Spokane-Area Manufacturers.

Jubilant HollisterStier received $149.6 million in American Rescue Plan funds for the expansion through an agreement with the U.S. Army, other Department of Defense agencies, and the Department of Health and Human Services.