United Therapeutics to Build $96 Million Facility for Genetically Engineered Pigs in Houston

A biotechnology company making headlines for its work in organ transplantation is planning to construct an estimated $96 million facility in northeast Houston to breed genetically engineered animals, specifically pigs. United Therapeutics Corp., a public benefit corporation based in Maryland and North Carolina, confirmed last week to the Houston Business Journal that it was undertaking the project.

Per filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, United Therapeutics will construct a 77,448-square-foot facility at 11848 Common Dock Dr. "that will house two types of genetically modified swine for the purpose of populating commercial facilities." The address listed does not exist but is located within the 77044 zip code, which borders Lake Houston and the Jacinto River and includes Sheldon Lake State Park & Environmental Learning Center.

Construction is expected to begin in February and end sometime in summer 2026, and Philadelphia-based EwingCole is listed as the design firm. According to KPRC, the facility is slated to be on 22 acres south of Lake Houston and will house up to 200 pigs at a time.

Dewey Steadman, head of investor relations for United Therapeutics, told the Business Journal that the pigs at the facility will be "gene-edited organisms," meaning the pigs' DNA will be edited. In a process called xenotransplantation, non-human animal organs are transplanted to humans, and breeding animals with genome editing is a way to make their organs ultimately more compatible in xenotransplantation.

Steadman added that the pigs must live in conditions certified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and will be fed a vegetarian diet.

In November 2024, physicians transplanted a kidney from a United pig (called a UKidney) with 10 gene edits into Towana Looney, a 53-year-old Alabama woman. Looney, who is now the longest-living recipient of a pig organ transplant, said Saturday that 61 days after the surgery she feels full of energy.

"I'm superwoman," Looney told the Associated Press. Her transplant, which was authorized by the FDA, was performed by surgeons at NYU Langone Health in New York City.

"Each successful xenotransplantation brings us closer to a future where organ shortages no longer cost lives," United Therapeutics Chairperson and CEO Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D., said in a statement after the transplant. "The latest transplant of our UKidney is the culmination of decades of dedicated research and demonstrates the significant progress we are making in this revolutionary field."

Dr. Alka Chandna, vice president of laboratory investigations of the People's Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) told KPRC that the group opposes United Therapeutics' project, saying "animals are not warehouses for us to get spare parts." PETA has a history of targeting United's work, supporting the investigation of a similar pig xenotransplantation facility in Alabama.