A global biotech firm this week broke ground on a 190-acre  biomanufacturing facility in Middletown, Delaware, a massive project that’s part of a wave of recent facility expansions or investments nationwide.

WuXi STA, the contract research and manufacturing subsidiary of China-based firm WuXi AppTec, plans to employ roughly 500 workers at the new plant, projected to open in 2026, according to a report in Endpoints News. WuXi STA paid $30M for the land, plans to invest a total of $510M in the site and received $19M in taxpayer-funded grants.

The campus will be an integrated contract research, development and manufacturing organization, CRDMO, able to do everything from manufacturing commercial drugs to packaging, labeling, storing and distributing for clinical trials.

Biomanufacturing capacity is in high demand due to the rapid growth in life sciences, especially new technologies such as cell and gene therapy.

Other recent announcements of new biomanufacturing facilities include a $65M facility for contract manufacturer Almac, near Philadelphia, Instil Bio’s $85M biomanufacturing site in Los Angeles and a $70M Astellas Pharma facility in south San Francisco.