Merck's interest in Durham may go beyond new plant

DURHAM -- Merck executives dropped hints Wednesday that the New Jersey drug maker's vaccine manufacturing plant in Durham has a good chance of attracting more jobs.

Projected to fill the first vials of vaccine for commercial use next year, the plant is already undergoing two expansions. Merck has committed to investing up to $750 million to complete construction by 2011 and create about 400 jobs.

Within the next year or two, Merck is expected to decide where to make two new vaccines it is still testing -- a combination pediatric vaccine and a vaccine to protect against staph infections. The Durham plant, which was dedicated as the Maurice R. Hilleman Center for Vaccine Manufacturing on Wednesday, will compete with Merck's two other U.S. vaccine production plants for the work.

"I'm not about to make an announcement," said CEO Richard Clark. "But I have a suspicion that we haven't stopped at $750 million [in Durham]."

When Merck selected the 262-acre site four years ago, executives said expansions were part of the master plan. In 2006, Merck announced the first expansion. The second expansion, a facility to make vaccine in bulk, was announced in June.

Further expansions would be necessary if the Durham plant is picked as the production site for additional vaccines, said Willie Deese, who heads Merck's manufacturing division. A former executive at GlaxoSmithKline's U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park, Deese still owns a house in Chapel Hill.

Merck stands to receive as much as $45 million in state and local tax breaks and other incentives to build the facility, based partly on total jobs created.

Merck's continued expansion also would strengthen the Triangle's reputation as center for vaccine makers. Wyeth has a plant in Sanford and Novartis is building in Holly Springs.

Prospects to attract even more jobs to the Durham plant were on Ellen Reckhow's mind. The chairwoman of the Durham County commissioners was among several elected officials, including Gov. Mike Easley, who attended the dedication.

"I checked with the planning department," Reckhow said, drawing grins from Clark and Deese. "There's still room on the site."

Merck also makes vaccines at plants in Elkton, Va., and West Point, Penn.

The company still requires Food and Drug Administration approval before it can begin selling vaccines made in Durham, but its hopes for the plant may be seen in its name. Maurice Hilleman was a microbiologist who worked on about 40 vaccines for human and animal use during his nearly 30 years at Merck. Among his accomplishments were vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella. Those vaccines will be manufactured in Durham.

Hilleman, who was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1988, was called a legend among scientists by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "But to the general public, he is the world's best kept secret," Fauci said.

Hilleman's wife, Lorraine, and their daughter, Kirsten, traveled from New York City to attend the dedication and accept a miniature replica of the Durham plant.

A display in the plant's administration building includes several pairs of Hilleman's reading glasses, a briefcase with his name tag, a size-44 lab coat and several books. One of the books is open and shows his penchant for doodles: A grinning dog next to illustrations of a human parasite.