Genmab, a Danish company focused on developing antibody therapies for patients with cancer, opened a new site in Plainsboro, NJ. The company was awarded $8.4 million in tax credits over seven years by the Murphy Administration to develop the new location.
Genmab CEO Jan van der Winkel cuts the ribbon on the new building. Credit: Genmab
Expanding presence in NJ
“Our extension at the Princeton Forrestal Center will strengthen our hub of innovation, fostering collaboration across commercialization, R&D and enabling support functions, with the goal to make antibody therapies available to patients,” said Genmab CEO Jan van de Winkel, “I’m incredibly proud to continue to continue on this journey here in New Jersey.”
The new site is Genmab’s second location in Plainsboro. Just next door is the company’s U.S. headquarters office and research and development laboratories, opened in July 2020.
Before the new site opened, Genmab’s workforce in New Jersey had grown from 150 to over 1,070 employees over a five-year span. The new site will create 300 more jobs.
“The talent prevalence, the educational ecosystem, the partnership opportunities. And also, it’s a state that’s so supportive of the life sciences industry. These were all major factors in not only establishing a presence, but staying and growing in New Jersey,” said Chris Cozic, Genmab’s Chief People Officer.
New Jersey has long been a hub for the life sciences, with easy access to New York, Philadelphia and Boston. New Jersey is home to 3,200+ companies, including 14 of the top 20 pharma players, according to the NJ Economic Development Authority (NJEDA). They also report that New Jersey is third in the country for employed biochemists and biophysicists.
New Jersey has been home to many innovative therapies, including immunotherapy and the cure for hepatitis C, developed by Pharmasset in Princeton. The state is also the home of the first approved CAR-T therapy, a form of immunotherapy that modified T cells to attack cancer cells, and the first 3D-printed drug, Spritam by Aprecia.
CEO Jan van der Winkel speaks at new site opening. Credit: Genmab
“At a time when global connectivity is under challenge and being reevaluated, here in New Jersey, we are in a place that welcomes investment from overseas, that recognizes that global connectivity partnerships are so incredibly important to our economic future, and the kind of global partnerships that we’re celebrating here today are really, really important to Governor Murphy and our entire state,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of NJEDA.
An ongoing transformation: from R&D to full integration
Genmab is in a state of evolution, said Cozic, “Genmab is in the process of evolving from a core R&D and partnership-based business to a true global end-to-end biotech.”
The company aims to transition from its R&D focus to a fully integrated biotech company that commercializes and delivers its drugs to patients, instead of relying on external partners.
Previously, Genmab has developed drugs in partnership with companies like Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie and Pfizer. Epkinly is marketed by Genmab in partnership with AbbVie, while Tivdak is a partnership with Pfizer.
“We had the amazing opportunity to work in a partnership model, and that allowed Genmab to historically focus on core competencies, innovating and discovering novel antibody therapeutics, and then developing those therapies in a clinical setting,” said Cozic, “But our ambition has always been to eventually be able to deliver that innovation in the best way possible, in the same patient-centric way that we discover and develop drugs, to deliver those therapies to patients.”
Genmab’s push into the biotech big leagues
Genmab is an international biotechnology company, founded in Denmark in 1999. It specializes in antibody therapeutics for cancer treatment and currently has two commercialized cancer medications in the U.S., Tivdak and Epkinly. Tivdak received full FDA approval in April 2024, and Epkinly received accelerated approval in May 2023.
The company’s revenue has soared over the years, thanks in part to the growth of Darzalex, the oncology blockbuster it co-developed with J&J. Since then, its presence in oncology has continued to expand. According to Yahoo Finance, Tivdak, its antibody drug candidate for cervical cancer, generated $32 million in sales in Q3 of 2024. In November 2024, the lymphoma-focused bispecific antibody Epkinly had year-to-date sales totaling $203 million, representing a 17% growth in Q3 of 2024.
According to Evaluate’s World Preview 2025, Johnson & Johnson and Genmab’s blood cancer drug Darzalex is on track to match sales of Merck’s heavyweight Keytruda by 2030. Global net sales of Darzalex totaled $11,670 million in 2024, Johnson & Johnson reported. Yahoo Finance reported that net sales grew by 19% in the first nine months of 2024. Genmab receives 20% royalties from Johnson & Johnson for Darzalex. Although Genmab has challenged Johnson & Johnson over royalty terms, rulings have favored J&J.
Filed Under: Biotech, Oncology
