By Rose Gruenbacher
Scorpius BioManufacturing officials on Thursday told The Mercury the original deal they made with the state to construct a $650-million, 500,000-square-foot vaccine and biologic medicine plant is off after they failed to meet an end-of-year timeline, though they said the door is open to renegotiate a new agreement.
“I think there’s a desire on everyone’s part to see this happen,” said Scorpius founder and CEO Jeff Wolf in a phone interview. “But you know, I think given the amount of time that it’s taking, the original deal with the state is no more.”
In April 2022, Scorpius, a San Antonio-based company specializing in emerging biotech and academic research, announced it would build the plant on U.S. Highway 24 east of Manhattan, creating around 500 jobs. Since then, there has been virtually no progress, though state and local officials had reaffirmed the project still would happen.
