by Sarah Glass
Local and state officials gathered on Thursday, October 8, at 200 Old Corvallis Rd. in Hamilton to celebrate a groundbreaking ceremony for Tonix’s planned commercial-scale manufacturing facility, a project years in the making that could strengthen the emerging “Bitterroot Valley biotech corridor.” Tonix joins biopharma company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Rocky Mountain Laboratories, a Level 4 federal biomedical research center, also located in Hamilton.
Speakers included Tonix Co-Founder and CEO Seth Lederman, MD; former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus; Ravalli County Economic Development Authority (RCEDA) Executive Director Julie Foster; Ravalli County Commissioner Dan Huls; and Hamilton Mayor Dominic Farrenkopf. Representatives from the offices of U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy and Gov. Greg Gianforte also attended in support of the project.
Headquartered in New Jersey, Tonix researches, develops and manufactures a variety of pharmaceuticals. Its research pipeline also includes candidates for next-generation COVID-19 vaccines as well as smallpox and mpox vaccines.
In his speech, Lederman said Tonix developed the first FDA-approved treatment for fibromyalgia in 15 years. “Since our founding, Tonix’s mission has been to improve the lives of people with chronic and sometimes invisible medical conditions. The illnesses we are diligently working to address include central nervous system disorders such as fibromyalgia, major depressive disorder, infectious diseases such as Lyme disease – which is very relevant to this site – and immunology conditions such as organ transplant rejection.”
The pharmaceutical company plans to produce a prophylaxis used against Lyme disease at the Hamilton manufacturing site. The 44-acre property was purchased in 2020 from Ilona Bessenyey and Peter Van Tuyn and was once part of the original Bitter Root Stock Farm. It is now part of a Ravalli County TEDD (Targeted Economic Development District) designed to enhance business development in the area.
This special district does not raise taxes, Hamilton Mayor Dominic Farrenkopf explained. Instead, it captures taxes from new development in the district and reinvests that additional tax base into projects and infrastructure until the district sunsets.
“RCEDA is really proud of the money and services we provide to the small businesses and to this community. One of our core mission pillars is to stimulate economic development and provide opportunities in the county and in Montana. Today marks several years of collaborative work to that end.” said Julie Foster, the Executive Director of the Ravalli County Economic Development Authority (RCEDA).
Julie credited former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus for bringing economic development funds to the valley. His efforts “resulted in the construction of today’s RCEDA Business Center, which is home to 23 businesses, and I think would not be here without Max’s support.”
Several speakers commented on what it means to be a good neighbor in the Bitterroot Valley, and their endeavor to integrate Tonix into the community. Lederman, in kind, announced donations Tonix will make to Bitterroot community organizations: Friends of the Hamilton Schools Foundation and the Ravalli County Council on Aging.
The groundbreaking ceremony continued at the Daly Mansion with lunch and conversation. Conversations ranged from medical manufacturing to biking in the Bitterroot.
Mayor Farrenkopf said he “was deeply moved by all of the positive comments made by the presenters” at the ceremony.
Later, the mayor answered questions about workforce housing in the Bitterroot. According to RCEDA’s “Comprehensive Development Plan Ravalli County Targeted Economic Development District” report, published in 2015, workforce housing was listed as a considerable barrier to new development within a Ravalli County TEDD.
“The need for affordable workforce housing in the Hamilton area is unmet. In Ravalli County, rent is 42% to 62% of an individual’s gross wage… This situation is an ongoing problem for our businesses and local government as they work to attract top talent. If job creation in the TEDD further diminishes affordable homes for working families, some workforce housing in the District may be pursued. It is important for our community and our economy to have housing that a working family can afford,” the report states.
Mayor Farrenkopf noted that within Hamilton, several housing, apartment and condominium development projects have been completed or are in the works. Projects include new housing on Kurtz Ln., proposed apartments on 9th St., apartments and condominiums behind Super 1, a housing subdivision on Old Corvallis Rd., and a new senior living facility built in Hamilton to address senior housing.
With these new developments, Mayor Farrenkopf said he feels “the supply and demand of housing will cause current housing rates to become more affordable through competition.” None of the projects mentioned is specifically designated as low-income housing, the mayor said, but through supply and demand, he hopes housing prices remain affordable, particularly for the workforce in Hamilton.
“The level of scientific progress, clinical development strategy and manufacturing capabilities required for medical innovation is tremendous,” Lederman concluded in his speech. “That is why we are deeply grateful to the Bitterroot Valley biotech corridor for supporting Tonix’s potential to advance our drug development and manufacturing efforts here. The planned commercial-scale facility has the potential to make a difference for fellow Americans and support the local Montana economy here in the Bitterroot.”
The Tonix commercial-scale manufacturing facility in Hamilton is tentatively planned to be completed within the next couple of years.
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