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3 drug companies to lease space in Morgantown innovation center

New signage for the WVU Innovation Corporation stands in front of the former Mylan facility as seen Wednesday, April 13, 2022. (WVU Photo/Jennifer Shephard)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — WVU Medicine announced in a release on Monday that it has found three U.S.-based drug companies to take up space at the WVU Innovation Corporation.

California companies GATC Health Corp and Yunigen, LLC and Morgantown-based company ExesaLibero Pharma are the new tenants joining the WVU Innovation Corporation, the release said. The 1.1 million square foot facility on Chestnut Ridge Road was previously owned by pharmaceutical manufacturer Mylan (now Viatris) before it was closed in 2020 and sold to WVU in 2022.

According to the release, ExesaLibero Pharma has leased a little over 1,000 square feet for its research into a small molecule drug designed to help treat rheumatoid arthritis. GATC Health has leased 7,000 square feet for its research into disease prediction through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as well as development of drugs to treat PTSD and fentanyl addiction. Yunigen has leased 25,000 square feet for the manufacturing of tablets used by pediatric sickle cell anemia patients in Africa.

Yunigen’s managing partner and chief medical officer, Charles Otieno, said that it found the facility after a two-year search for a manufacturing location. “This is what we were looking for because WVU preserved the intended use of the facility,” he said. “This has the potential for Morgantown to make its mark on emerging markets and will change the course of this disease. It will be a symbol of pride.”

WVU purchased the plant in 2022 on the terms that it would be used to provide employment to the Morgantown area. The facility still has hundreds of thousands of square feet office, lab, warehouse and manufacturing space available for lease, according to the Innovation Corporation website.