Advanced BioScience Laboratories, Inc. is Growing and Seeking Exceptional Life Science Talent

Rockville, Maryland’s Advanced BioScience Laboratories, Inc. (ABL) is a rapidly growing biotech company that provides expert contract manufacturing and laboratory research services to customers across the globe. The company delivers best-in-class GMP manufacturing and immunology solutions for gene therapies, oncolytics, vaccines, and other immunotherapeutics to life science organizations, and government agencies.

The company, which was founded in the U.S. in 1961, is on a mission to help life science companies bring more life-saving products to patients by efficiently advancing vaccines and therapies from clinical development to commercialization. ABL is well-positioned to achieve its mission with an outstanding team located at multiple sites and multiple cGMP facilities in the U.S. and Europe. 

ABL is growing thoughtfully and strategically; the company’s portfolio has expanded and the ABL is actively looking to add new life science talent to its Rockville, Maryland team. 

The Rockville facility has three GMP branches: upstream, downstream, and fill/finish. The site offers robust training opportunities via hands-on experience, established standard operating procedures, and a commitment to continual improvement. 

“We are very client-oriented and have a strong communication structure. We are a mid-size facility with a very concentrated amount of expertise in various fields. We offer a real sense of balance at our site and we are very flexible when it comes to work-life balance. We are a very family-oriented company,” stated Hedrick Yamusah, senior director of ABL’s manufacturing group at the Rockville facility. “There is something for everyone here at ABL.”

The company’s current openings include but are not limited to:

• Sr. GMP Scientist
• Head of Quality Control
• GMP Specialist II – Downstream
• QA Specialist III – Client Commercial
• QC Microbiology EM Supervisor
• Quality Specialist II (QA on the Floor)
• Sr. Lab Research Specialist – Immunology
• Quality Assurance Documentation Specialist I
• Proposal Manager
• Head of Downstream – PD
• Staff Scientist – Downstream Process Development
• Sr. Supplier Quality Engineer – Client Commercial

On December 2, 2020, ABL hosted a well-attended virtual recruiting event. A number of ABL’s key staff members participated in the virtual event, including the company’s CEO Jarlath Keating; Tim Fouts, VP Innovation & Translation; Hedrick Yamusah, Senior Director, GMP Manufacturing; and HR Director Diana Elias, among others. 

Event attendees were given an inside look at what makes ABL tick and were able to hear directly from the ABL team about the company’s mission, capabilities, workplace culture, hiring needs, and why right now is an exciting time to join the local branch of this global company.

An Introductory Message from ABL’s CEO

“I’ve been with the ABL organization for two and a half years and have been in biotech for 25 years. ABL’s vision is to enable our customers to conquer the world’s most challenging diseases. Imagine a scenario where HIV, cancer, and neurological diseases don’t exist anymore… our mission is to partner with our customers and work with them to develop new, exciting therapeutics to conquer these devastating diseases. We all know people who have had these maladies. That’s our goal and that’s what brings us to work every day,” stated Jarlath Keating, ABL’s CEO.

“This vision is shared by our owner. ABL is a privately-owned organization and that is owned by Institut Merieux, which is a privately-owned French-based organization that has a significant footprint in the healthcare industry; it is a $3B organization and this gives us a lot of horsepower and stability,” he added.

“We have an extremely talented team…We want to create value, have an impact, make a difference, and serve our customers so that we can help them serve their customers who need life-saving therapies,” stated Keating.  

ABL Staff Shares What It’s Like at ABL

ABL is part of a family of companies within Institut Merieux, a holding company headquartered in Lyon, France. Institut Merieux is a family-owned organization of five public health companies with over 45 global locations. Institut Merieux’s mission is to improve global public health through innovative approaches to diagnostics, immunotherapy, food safety, and nutrition. ABL’s sibling companies include BioMerieux, Merieux Nutrisciences, and Transgene.

The Rockville site is ABL’s global headquarters. ABL U.S employs approximately 125 staff members. The Rockville site offers its team a smaller work environment within a very large family of companies with 20,000 employees across the globe. 

Stephen M. Jackson, Staff Scientist at ABL, shared, “I am involved in management and training in the immunology department. What I really love about ABL is a combination of four things: we get the job done; we are encouraged to be scientists doing science; we form a team with our clients; and we all believe efficiency is key—we really care about training so that we are properly equipped to do our job.”

“I have been here for about two and a half years. Coming to ABL was a very good decision. It is just the right size of an organization…you really feel that you can make a difference. As part of the process development group, the scope of work is very diverse…our work is never boring,” stated Staff Scientist Isabelle Pelletier. 

“Each client brings a different process and every client has its own needs and I get to use my skills and expertise. Along the way, I get to learn constantly. We work in teams and we’re never alone on a project; you can always bounce ideas off of people and this makes the environment so much fun,” she added. “You really get a global view of how everyone works…Clients ultimately benefit from this teamwork. I am very happy to be part of ABL. It is an ideal job for me.” 

Translating Innovative Science from the Clinic to the Market

Since ABL’s inception in 1961, the company has been a trusted service provider to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). ABL’s business model includes both government and life science industry customers. 

Across its history, the company has developed the infrastructure and expertise to proficiently execute a wide array of product development work for medical countermeasures, emerging diseases, and diagnostics. ABL delivers a fully integrated solution to its partners, including cell line and process development services, GMP manufacturing capabilities, quality control testing, fill/finish services, and quality assurance/regulatory support.

“My group has two roles. The first role we have is to develop new service platforms for the company in collaboration with our manufacturing and immunology groups…the second role is to manage a portfolio of government contracts. We have a long tradition of working with the U.S. government, which puts us in a unique position. We get to help innovators with cutting edge gene therapy and vaccine products. Our job is to bring their ‘crown jewels’, their unique innovative products, through the initial stages of clinical development,” stated Tim Fouts, VP Innovation & Translation.

“What excites me about working at ABL is that I get to work with these cutting edge products and engage with the scientists. We help our customers change the world and bring some of these important products to fruition to cure diseases,” added Fouts.

Quality Assurance is a critical component of how ABL helps its customers as well.   

“Patient safety and product quality are paramount here. When we put our signature on compliance and analysis documents that means they are high quality, safe products,“ stated Tom Montague, Director of Quality Assurance, who works closely with Fouts and the manufacturing groups to bring high quality, safe, and effective products to the market for ABL’s diverse customer portfolio. 

“We’re looking for folks that hold themselves to high levels of excellence. In order for us to be successful and provide high-quality products on time we need to do the job right the first time,” he added.

ABL’s Workplace Culture Drives Innovation and Productivity

As ABL grows, it has continued to invest in developing a vibrant, inclusive, and development-focused workplace culture, where employees have ample opportunities to learn, develop new skills, and share ideas.

Diana Elias, ABL’s HR Director, has spearheaded ABL efforts to build upon an already strong culture by enhancing accountability, improving communication, and better positioning the ABL team to consistently deliver outstanding customer experiences. 

This burgeoning ABL culture is not only attracting a diverse pool of new talent, but it also is bringing former employees back into the ABL family. 

“I am very proud to say that I am a boomerang employee at ABL. I was at ABL a long time ago as a Quality Systems Specialist and I recently returned to ABL as a Program Manager. My day at ABL is not quiet; it is very exciting and gives me a different set of experiences,” shared Jennifer Derry, Program Manager.

“When they asked why I returned to ABL, I said it was the people that I met when I interviewed and my manager. I am passionate about what I do and I need to love and enjoy what I do. The culture at ABL is very family-oriented and this is what really drove me to accept the position,” she added. “I hope you’ll consider joining ABL where you can work at your passion and become a part of our amazing team.”

“I have been with ABL since the summer and it’s been a fantastic experience so far. We always try and share with job candidates what it’s like to be a part of the ABL family. We have a lot of job opportunities available and more coming in the pipeline,” stated Elias. 

“If you’re interested in reaching out, you can reach out to my team at [email protected] and anyone on my team will assist you,” she added.