Tuesday January 28, 2020

‘Butterfly babies’ may find help with Krystal Biotech’s medicines

Pharmaceutical company Krystal Biotech recently broke ground on a 100,000 SF industrial, research and development facility in Findlay Township in conjunction with the Allegheny County Airport Authority (ACAA).

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

‘BUTTERFLY BABIES’ MAY FIND HELP WITH KRYSTAL BIOTECH’S MEDICINES

Krystal Biotech Inc. broke ground in Findlay on Friday for a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant the size of a typical city block and the first of its kind in Western Pennsylvania.

The 100,000-square-foot building in the Airport Corridor will be primarily used to make the company’s gene therapy medicines for rare skin problems. Krystal CEO Krish Krishnan said the building is expected to be done within 15 months, and if all goes well, the startup biotech company’s first product will reach market late next year.

“Krystal is in the business of finding cures for rare genetic diseases,” Mr. Krishnan told local elected officials and others who attended the ceremony. The products are needed by “quite an underserved population,” he said.

Krystal Biotech is a clinical stage gene therapy company that was founded in 2016 and completed a $45.5 million initial public offering in 2017. The company’s lead medicine, which will soon begin pivotal phase III clinical trials in humans, is a topical gel that can be used to treat a rare disease that causes the skin to blister and tear easily.

Read more from Kris B. Mamula at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette here.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Al. Neyer is the design-builder of the 100,000 SF facility for Krystal Biotech that will serve as the new manufacturing facility supporting the production of life-changing medicines. The company is a gene therapy company dedicated to developing and commercializing topical and intradermal “off-the-shelf” novel treatments for patients suffering from rare dermatological diseases. KB-103 (B-VEC) is Krystal’s lead product candidate that seeks to use gene therapy to treat dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, or DEB, an incurable skin blistering condition caused by a lack of collagen in the skin.

Krystal Biotech will enter a 15-year lease on the building they’re referring to as “Astra”. The company plans to to add 75 new jobs upon opening the facility, and expects continued growth and innovation in Western Pennsylvania in the future. Read more information from Krystal’s official release here.

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