United Therapeutics, a biotech company that has operations in the Manchester Millyard, is backing off plans to buy city-owned property on Hackett Hill Road, saying the 350-acre site is not suitable for its plans.
“We appreciate the creativity and dedication of Mayor Ruais, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the City of Manchester to make the Hackett Hill site available for potential development,” said Dewey Steadman, head of investor relations for the Maryland-based company, in a statement Monday.
The company says it remains committed to Manchester, however, where it is working on producing artificial human organs for transplant at an 80,000-square-foot research and development center at 100 Commercial St.
“During our evaluation of the site, we came to believe that the site would not be suitable for our projected future development needs. Despite this, we expect to continue to expand our presence in Manchester at our current Millyard site, where we employ more than 60 scientists and other professionals relentlessly seeking ways to make organ alternatives available for patients in need.”
United Therapeutics had offered to buy the property for $4.62 million, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported in September.
Mayor Jay Ruais issued a statement Monday acknowledging the company’s impact in the city, where it has invested $50 million.
“The renovation includes laboratories, offices, and amenities that could add more than 60 new jobs to the Manchester market,” Ruais said. “They are extraordinary partners, and I have deeply appreciated the relationship we have built with this tremendous organization doing groundbreaking and lifesaving work.
“We are working with our relevant city departments, and UT, to explore other opportunities for them to expand their footprint here in the City of Manchester. I look forward to our continued partnership.”
United Therapeutics will continue to look at other property In New Hampshire as it works to expand its footprint, Steadman told NH Business Review.
“This is long-term planning for us,” said Steadman, explaining that securing real estate is the longest part of the process for the company, which aims to have space ready in time to meet future manufacturing needs, “whether it’s the existing pharmaceutical side of the business or it’s the high tech.”
United Therapeutics employs 1,400 people at sites that include Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Minnesota and Quebec. It also has a nationwide field force and small teams of workers in the Netherlands, the UK and other parts of Europe.
The public benefit corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) is one of the founding members of the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, a nonprofit consortium established by inventor Dean Kamen in 2017 that is backed by nearly $500 million from federal government funding and in-kind support from more than 200 member organizations.
United Therapeutics was founded in 1996 by Martine Rothblatt to find a cure for her daughter’s pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare lung and heart disease. The company generated $2.1 billion in sales in 2023, primarily from selling five FDA-approved drugs, Forbes reported in July, touting Rothblatt as “the world’s newest billionaire” based on the value of the company’s shares.
