Bend Research, a major employer and the granddaddy of Bend’s bioscience industry, is planning another expansion, this time at its engineering facility on the northeast side of town.

Frank Briamonte, spokesman for Bend Research owner Capsugel, confirmed that the company plans to expand its product development facility but said it’s too early to discuss further details.

According to documents filed with the city of Bend Community Development Department, Capsugel is planning 5,206 square feet of industrial space, plus 7,076 square feet of office space, which would be split between two stories, on the north side of the current building at 63045 Corporate Place.

Bend Research has grown significantly since its 2013 acquisition by Capsugel, based in Morristown, New Jersey. In July 2015, Capsugel finished a $25 million, 5,872-square-foot expansion of the manufacturing plant at 20503 Builders St., which is south of the engineering building on Corporate Place.

Bend Research, which employs about 350 people in Bend, specializes in putting active pharmaceutical ingredients into pills that can be more easily absorbed by the human body. Bend Research also makes drugs for timed release and in inhaled forms.

Innovation at Bend Research has figured prominently in Capsugel’s $5.5 billion acquisition by the Swiss pharmaceutical supplier Lonza. The deal, which was announced in December, has not yet been completed.

In pitching the deal to investors, Lonza played up Capsugel’s spray-dried dispersion process, which was developed by Bend Research.

The expansion on Corporate Place would exceed 12,000 square feet of space. Plans on file with the city show offices, engineering space and process support areas.

Roger Lee, executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon, said he is aware that Bend Research is planning another expansion, but he couldn’t discuss whether it would involve additional hiring. “Of course, I can’t talk about it,” he said.

—Reporter: 541-617-7860, kmclaughlin@bendbulletin.com