NOVATO, CA-In a decision that has an impact on the growth of  bio-med industry in the Bay Area, a European agency has recommended approval for the sale of drugs that BioMarin Pharmaceuticals Inc. plans to make in its newly expanded plant in this Marin County city.

Developers and tenants who complain about the many approvals required to build in California may be interested by BioMarin’s dilemma: The company completed a 21,800-square-foot, $60 million facility in 2009. The building has stood empty, however, while the company awaits word from regulators on two continents that drugs made in the newly expanded Novato plant can be sold in both the US and European Union.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the medications in November, while the Committee for Medicinal  Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency recommended approval of the BioMarin drugs in the European Union. Final approval from the European authorities is not expected until the first quarter of 2012.

When the facility opens, BioMarin will be able to expand its workforce by 100 people,  according to a company statement. According to BioMarin, the expanded facilties, which includes 40,000 square feet of clean-room space in a 70,000-square-foot plant, will produce drugs and therapies with a market value of $1 billion annually.