GlaxoSmithKline will invest $139 million in its biopharmaceutical manufacturing site in Rockville, MD to support production of BENLYSTA (belimumab) for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The Rockville site is also expected to house production of a new subcutaneous form of belimumab which is currently under FDA review. 
 
The investment will provide additional internal capacity to increase bulk drug substance production by nearly 50% to respond to increased demand. Benlysta has grown at least 18% per year in the U.S. on a constant exchange rate basis. In 2016, the company reported $377million in BENLYSTA sales in the U.S.
 
“Benlysta is the first medicine specifically developed and approved for SLE in over 50 years. We are so pleased that on the first day of Lupus Awareness Month we are able to announce this expansion in Rockville, increasing our ability to provide this important medicine to patients,” said Sheri Mullen, VP Immunology & Rare Diseases, GSK.
 
The Rockville site consists of two FDA-licensed facilities for large and small scale manufacturing, which employ more than 400 scientists, engineers and manufacturing and quality professionals. 
 
The company has made several additional investments recently, including: $50 million to continue to develop its Global Vaccines R&D Headquarters in Rockville, MD, and $245 million to upgrade its Upper Providence, PA site into one of two major R&D hubs for GSK globally.