HollisterStier Contract Manufacturing, a division of Spokane-based pharmaceutical maker Hollister-Stier Laboratories LLC, has inked an agreement with Roxro Pharma LLC, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based early-stage drug maker that has a pain-management drug in the later stages of development.


Meanwhile, Hollister-Stier has added employees across its operations over the past year at a faster clip than it had projected, says Janelle Jovick, the companys spokeswoman.


Through the new contract, HollisterStier will fill vials of ROX-888, Roxros pain-management drug. Roxro is conducting Phase III trials of the drug and plans to file a new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration once those trials are completed.


Jovick says HollisterStier and Roxro together are buying specialized equipment to be installed at the Spokane companys 120,000-square-foot plant, located at 3525 N. Regal. The company wont need to expand its facility to accommodate the new line of business, though, she says.


Companywide, Hollister-Stier currently employs 384 people, including 25 temporary workers. Jovick says the company has hired 44 permanent employees over the past year, which is about three times what the company had projected it would hire in that period.


Thats due to pharmaceutical companies outsourcing more frequently, Jovick says. Right now, the contract manufacturing industry is growing quickly.


She says, however, that the company hasnt made any projections on how many people it expects to add this coming year.


In addition to its contract-manufacturing work, Hollister-Stier makes allergy products. The companys facility is licensed and inspected by the FDA for both pharmaceutical and biological products.


The company went into business in 1999 when a group of managers bought the facility from Bayer Corp. Under various ownerships, the plant has operated in Spokane since 1921.


Contact Linn Parish at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at linnp@spokanejournal.com.