NM tech startup expands to Rio Rancho

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico startup with technology to rapidly develop new vaccines and drugs will move into a Rio Rancho facility and hire 116 workers over 10 years with backing from the state.

Nature’s Toolbox, or NTxBio, will relocate from its current office in Santa Fe to a 25,000-square-foot building at the Enchanted Hills Commerce Center in Rio Rancho early next year. It will receive US$5 million in Local Economic Development Act funding to build out the facility into a high-tech research and manufacturing center for new pharmaceuticals, the state Economic Development Department announced.

“NTx is a company that launched in New Mexico and is now expanding in the state and adding high-paying jobs with assistance from LEDA,” Economic Development minister Alicia J. Keyes said in a prepared statement.

The company expects to hire 116 people over the next decade at an average annual salary of US$74,000, representing about US$74.5 million in additional payroll over the next 10 years. It’s total direct economic impact could reach US$190 million over that period.

The City of Rio Rancho will act as fiscal agent for the LEDA funding, contributing US$500,000 to the assistance package, although the city must still officially approve it. Source: ABQ Journal