Maryland-based United Therapeutics has opened a new manufacturing facility in Houston, joining a growing cluster of life sciences companies at Generation Park.
The $96 million Dr. Bartley P. Griffith and Dr. Robert A. Montgomery Xenograft Production Facility will produce xeno-organs, or organs from animals intended for human transplantation. The company focuses on kidneys and hearts derived from genetically modified pigs.
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The Houston site spans 77,000 square feet and is United Therapeutics’ third designated pathogen-free facility, a biosecure environment built to prevent contamination. The other two locations are in Virginia and Minnesota. With clinical trials underway, the new facility is designed to help the company scale commercial production following regulatory approval.
“Every day, people with end-stage organ disease die waiting for an organ that never comes,” said Martine Rothblatt, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of United Therapeutics, in a press release. “With our third xenograft production facility now open and clinical trials underway, United Therapeutics is moving closer to its goal of providing transplantable organs to the people who need them.”
The facility is named in honor of Dr. Bartley P. Griffith and Dr. Robert A. Montgomery, two pioneering surgeons who helped advance United Therapeutics’ organ transplant program. Griffith performed the world’s first transplants of the company’s genetically modified pig hearts into humans, while Montgomery performed the first pig kidney transplant as part of the company’s clinical trial in 2025.
Building on Houston’s Life Sciences Momentum
United Therapeutics’ new facility adds to a wave of life sciences investment at Generation Park, where pharmaceutical giants Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb have announced a combined $8.8 billion in manufacturing projects.
READ MORE: Lilly Breaks Ground as Houston’s Biopharma Sector Gains Momentum