SAN DIEGO, June 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced today that its Regenerative Medicine business, Advanced BioHealing, Inc., has entered into a lease agreement with BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. which will allow the company to further expand its operational footprint and presence in the San Diego area over the next several years.

The new campus will provide Shire's Regenerative Medicine business the increased capacity it needs to meet future demand for its lead product, DERMAGRAFT, while offering additional space and infrastructure to manufacture new regenerative medicine products, in alignment with the business' strategic growth plan.

"We are committed to investing in and expanding our Regenerative Medicine business and with the signing of this lease, we are pleased to confirm and build our presence in San Diego with BioMed Realty as our real estate partner," said Kevin Rakin, Shire's Regenerative Medicine President. "This new campus will give us the flexibility and increased capacity we need to develop and manufacture new regenerative medicine therapies and build our foundation for continued growth in this exciting field."

Phase I of the site development will be in excess of 150,000 square feet and will house the company's manufacturing and associated support operations, commercial operations, corporate, and administrative functions. This expansion could create several hundred local jobs once the regenerative medicine campus is operational.

"Shire's commitment to growing its Regenerative Medicine business in San Diego is important to a region where one-in-10 people remain unemployed," said Congressman Brian Bilbray (CA-50). "This investment will not only provide additional opportunities for rewarding, high-paying jobs, but will ensure that San Diego remains a leader in the development of innovative patient care."

Shire expects to begin construction of the new campus in Sorrento Mesa in 2013, with initial occupancy targeted for 2014.

"We are pleased to enter into this partnership with Advanced BioHealing, which is the culmination of extensive, collaborative efforts by both companies to identify and execute on a real estate solution which will fully support their development and manufacturing needs," said Alan D. Gold, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BioMed Realty. "We look forward to working closely with the Advanced BioHealing and Shire teams to develop this future multi-phase campus for the development and commercialization of important regenerative medicine therapies."

The company plans to maintain its current DERMAGRAFT manufacturing facility on North Torrey Pines Road in La Jolla, CA, which currently employs nearly 200 people.

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Shire's Advanced BioHealing Commits to Developing Regenerative Medicine Campus in San Diego