Alabama State University and Callan JMB Inc. have announced a partnership to expand workforce development, research and pharmaceutical industry training at a planned medical manufacturing and logistics complex in Marion.

The agreement will connect ASU students and faculty with the Atlas Complex, a proposed 150-acre pharmaceutical and medical logistics campus Callan JMB is developing.

The partnership will focus on workforce training, student internships, faculty-led research and academic programs related to pharmaceutical manufacturing, biotechnology, quality assurance, health care logistics, regulatory compliance and supply chain management.

Students and researchers are expected to work with companies that establish operations at the complex, according to Callan JMB. The company said the arrangement will help develop workers with the skills needed to support pharmaceutical manufacturing and medical supply operations.

The partnership also has historical significance for ASU, which was founded in Marion in 1867 before relocating to Montgomery.

“Our partnership with Callan JMB began during the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” ASU President Quinton T. Ross Jr. said. “What started as a collaboration focused on protecting the health and safety of our students has grown into a trusted, long-standing partnership built on a shared commitment to the success of Alabama State University and providing the very best for our students.”

Ross said the latest collaboration will connect classroom education with industry experience.

“As a university committed to preparing students to lead, innovate and serve, Alabama State University is proud to partner with Callan JMB on an initiative that connects education directly with industry,” Ross said. “This collaboration provides our students and faculty with meaningful opportunities to participate in applied research, workforce development and industry engagement while contributing to the continued growth of Alabama’s life sciences and advanced manufacturing sectors.”

Callan JMB describes the Atlas Complex as an integrated campus where pharmaceutical manufacturing, research, workforce development, quality-control systems and logistics operations would operate together.

The company said the complex is intended to help domestic and international pharmaceutical businesses establish or expand manufacturing operations in the United States as policymakers and health care leaders seek to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.

“Atlas Complex was always envisioned as much more than a collection of buildings,” Callan JMB CEO Wayne Williams said. “Our vision is to create an ecosystem where industry, higher education, innovation and workforce development work together to solve some of the country’s most important health care supply chain challenges.”

Williams called ASU “an exceptional partner” in developing the project’s workforce and research components.

“Together, we’re creating an environment that supports innovation, develops talent, attracts investment and strengthens America’s domestic pharmaceutical capabilities,” Williams said.

Callan JMB projects that the Atlas Complex could support a pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem generating more than $430 million in annual revenue once fully developed. The figure represents the company’s long-term operating projection, not current revenue generated at the site.

The company did not provide a timetable for completing the campus or specify how many jobs the project could create.

Williams said the partnership grew from work between the company and ASU during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Six years ago, we partnered to help protect Alabama State University’s students,” Williams said. “Today, we’re partnering to help prepare them to lead the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing in America.”

The company said the ASU agreement is part of its effort to attract pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical logistics companies and other life sciences businesses to the Marion campus.