Siemens officially launched the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center in May of 2019 in Chengdu, China. Located in the Chengdu High-tech Zone, the facility houses the Smart Manufacturing Center of Excellence, the Smart Manufacturing Professional Lab, the Industry Solutions Research Center, and the Talent Training Platform.
Chugai Pharmaceuticals will begin construction in August of 2019 on a $1.15 billion research and development center in Yokohama, Japan. Consolidating two labs currently sited in Gotemba and Kamakura, the facility will support drug discovery including the creation of therapies based on next-generation antibodies and synthetic macrocycles, also known as middle molecules. The pharmaceutical research center will leverage leading-edge automation processes and artificial intelligence technologies to accelerate the delivery of innovative medicines to patients worldwide.
WuXi Biologics began construction in May of 2019 on a 1.3 million-sf integrated manufacturing center in Chengdu, China. Meeting the criteria of both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency's GMP guidelines, the biologics hub will include both drug development and commercial manufacturing facilities. Offering an initial bioreactor capacity of 48,000 liters, the project is WuXi's twelfth drug substance manufacturing plant and will use the company's open-access and proprietary platforms.
The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) celebrated the opening of the Cobb County Research Facility South in May of 2019. Located in Smyrna on land purchased from Lockheed Martin, the 350,000-sf campus houses the Aerospace, Transportation, and Advanced Systems Laboratory (ATAS); the Cybersecurity, Information Protection, and Hardware Evaluation Research Laboratory (CIPHER); the Electronic Systems Laboratory (ELSYS); and the Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory (SEAL).
Novo Nordisk's global production will be entirely powered by renewable energy by early 2020, with a ten-year goal of achieving zero carbon emissions from operations and transportation. The pharmaceutical company has made a $70 million investment in a 105-megawatt-dc solar energy installation to be built in Pender County, North Carolina.
Centennial College opened the CAD$72 million Downsview Campus Centre for Aerospace and Aviation in April of 2018 in Toronto. Designed by MJMA in association with Stantec, the project included the renovation of the historic de Havilland Aircraft building to provide classrooms, teaching labs, and research space for programs in aviation, aircraft maintenance, and aerospace manufacturing. The 137,000-sf facility is sited on four acres and includes a hangar capable of accommodating commercial jets.
Biotechpharma UAB is initiating an expansion of its existing manufacturing campus in Vilnius, Lithuania. The $56 million project includes construction of a leading-edge process development lab and the installation of a new line of bioreactors for microbial fermentation at the 5,000-liter scale. Flexible facility design will also allow for increased mammalian cell culture production capacities.
Kite Pharma is planning to build a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Frederick, Md. Located on a 20-acre site at the Urbana Corporate Center, the project will provide 217,000 sf of manufacturing and support space for the production of chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cell therapies as well as investigational T cell receptor (TCR) cell therapies being evaluated in solid tumors. The facility will also include 62,000 sf of office space. Occupancy is expected in 2021. Kite is a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences.
Cambrex Corporation completed construction in April of 2019 on a $24 million facility for the manufacture of highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs) in Charles City, Iowa. The 6,000-sf project houses four reactors with capacities ranging from 200 to 1,000 gallons to accommodate batches from 50 to 300 kilograms. An existing small scale manufacturing area has also been reconfigured.
The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering has announced the winners of the 2019 Facility of the Year Awards.
BASF opened a 54,000-sf facility at Innovation Campus Shanghai in March of 2019. The $28 million project houses the Automotive Application Center which features a 3D robotic simulator, a state-of-the-art spray booth for electrostatic applications, and a physical testing lab. The sustainably designed structure also accommodates the Process Catalysis Research & Development Center which offers highly specialized testing units for evaluating solid catalyst performance as well as advanced facilities for solids processing.
Bluebird Bio opened a 125,000-sf gene and cell therapy manufacturing facility in March of 2019 in Durham, N.C. Representing an $80 million investment, the project is bluebird's first wholly owned facility and will support the production of lentiviral vector for clinical and commercial applications. The building, which is now substantially complete and undergoing equipment commissioning, provides multiple manufacturing suites, quality-control testing labs, and warehouse space.
Merck opened the first M Lab™ Collaboration Center in Europe in March of 2019. Located in Molsheim, France, the facility provides biopharmaceutical customers with a shared, exploratory environment where they can work with Merck scientists and engineers to accelerate the manufacture of new therapies. The 43,000-sf facility offers advanced simulation technologies in a non-GMP environment for end-to-end process development from pre-clinical through full-scale production.
Cellectis entered into a lease agreement in March of 2019 to build the Innovative Manufacturing Plant for Allogeneic Cellular Therapies (IMPACT) in Raleigh, N.C. Designed by Laporte Euro, the facility will produce immunotherapies based on gene-edited allogeneic CAR T-cells (UCART). Colliers International assisted in the real estate transaction. In addition, Cellectis is building a 14,000-sf manufacturing facility in Paris.
Fujifilm Electronic Materials broke ground in March of 2019 on an 85,000-sf expansion of its Mesa campus. The project will provide five new buildings for research, development, manufacturing, warehousing, and administration. Completion is expected in early 2020. Fujifilm is investing $91 million over several years to expand its operations in Arizona and Rhode Island to meet a growing global demand for high purity electronic chemicals.
