Novex Innovations
Industry: Biomanufacturing
Founded: 2014
Top executives: Jerry Barker, founder and CEO; Doug Drabble, co-owner and chief operating officer
Address: 101 N. Chestnut St., Suite 308, Winston-Salem
Phone: 336-231-6693
As it adds employees and prepares to launch a new way to find clients, Novex Innovations has found a way to secure its capacity for rapid growth: space.
In January, Novex -- a Winston-Salem contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) – bought two buildings, totaling over 145,000 square feet, in downtown Winston-Salem for $12.15 million. Albert Hall at 101 N. Chestnut St. currently houses the company’s headquarters, and Novex added Victoria Hall at 111 N. Chestnut St.
More news came in June, as Jerry Barker, founder and CEO, and Doug Drabble, co-owner and chief operating officer, received North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.
Founded in January 2014, Novex manufactures and develops processing for companies in the biomedical industry, specifically in biologics, drug products and medical devices. Due to confidentiality agreements, Novex declined to disclose the names of products it manufactures, but said it creates medical devices for urology and ophthalmology, cancer drugs and products for pain and joint inflammation.
Novex serves 36 clients from across the U.S., Europe and Japan. Drabble said 19 clients are currently active, with Novex developing several new projects.
While young companies make up a large portion of its clients, Novex also does larger scale manufacturing, with the company even serving two public companies.
And for its younger clients, Novex offers infrastructure services that run the gamut – from manufacturing to packaging and shipping products. It also works with companies’ clients to receive and invoice orders.
Currently, Novex employs 28 people, with Drabble expecting 48 staff by early 2023.
Novex operates on a modified single shift system that uses about 50% to 60% of its space and staffing capacity. That gives it room to grow to accommodate new customers and work.
Novex has grown organically – without external funding and through word-of-mouth. But with the growth in space and staffing, Novex is building an internal infrastructure for marketing and sales that will be operational in the fall and help onboard six to eight clients annually.
In the 85,586-square-feet Albert Hall, Novex occupies 39,000 square feet with 14 laboratories, including four certified cleanrooms. That leaves approximately 45,000 available. Victoria Hall, built in 2000, provides another 59,860 square feet of potential.
Novex is expanding into an additional 9,000 square feet, expected to be completed by the end of the month. Drabble said this will be all lab space, including a cleanroom, with a small amount of storage.
Drabble expects expansion to continue through 2023, with the company occupying 60,000 square feet across the two buildings.
