Shire Pharmaceuticals will begin construction in mid-2016 on a new biologics manufacturing campus in Piercetown, Ireland. Sited on 120 acres in County Meath, the project is part of Shire's $400 million investment over four years to expand its biopharmaceutical production capacity. The facility will utilize advanced bioprocessing technologies and will accommodate over 400 employees. Operations will commence at the site in mid-2019.
Global pharmaceutical manufacturer Lonza began construction in April of 2016 on a 100,000-sf facility in Pearland, Texas. Featuring a fully segregated fill/finish suite, the project will include eight independent cGMP modular cleanrooms with single-use bioreactors for the production of viral gene and virally modified therapeutics. Grade-B cleanrooms will also be constructed to continue the manufacture of EMA-regulated cell therapy products. Operations are expected to begin at the site in mid-2017.
Green Cross Biotherapeutics began building a $256 million biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Canada in June of 2015. Located on the Montreal Technoparc's Saint-Laurent Campus, the project will support the production of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and albumin products, and will act as the company's North American headquarters. The 225,000-gsf facility is expected to be fully operational in 2019 and will accommodate 200 scientists, engineers, and support staff. Green Cross Biotherapeutics is headquartered Yongin, South Korea.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals is planning to build a $515 million biologics manufacturing facility in Dublin. The 215,000-sf building will be located on the College Park campus in Blanchardstown and completion is expected in 2019. Alexion's global supply chain headquarters will also become operational at the site by year-end 2015.
WuXi Biologics began building a $150 million mammalian cell culture manufacturing facility in April of 2015 in Wuxi, China. Designed to utilize disposable bioreactors, the biopharmaceutical production plant will be the largest of its kind in the world and will be able to run continuous or semi-continuous manufacturing processes in addition to traditional modes. Completion is expected by January of 2017. WuXi Biologics is a wholly owned subsidiary of WuXi PharmaTech.
Nanotherapeutics is building the $135 million Advanced Development and Manufacturing Center in Alachua, Fla. Designed by RS&H, the 165,000-sf project will support vaccine development and production utilizing advanced biomanufacturing technologies. Ground was broken on the facility in October of 2013 and completion is expected by 2016. Nanotherapeutics is contracted to the Department of Defense to develop medical countermeasures to chemical and biological threats as well as infectious disease outbreaks.
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies broke ground in January of 2015 on a 62,000-sf biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Designed to support collaborative research and development, the three-story BioProcess Innovation Center will accommodate the creation and production of advanced proteins, vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies. The project team includes Alexandria Real Estate Equities and KBR Building Group. Completion is expected in late 2015.
Stelis Biopharma has selected Bio-XCell to construct a $60 million biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Nusajaya in the Johor region of Malaysia. Providing mammalian and microbial production suites, the 140,000-sf project will feature next-generation, single-use bioprocessing technologies. Completion is expected in late 2016 with operations commencing in mid-2017. Stelis Biopharma is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Strides Arcolab.
The University of Illinois officially broke ground on the $24 million Integrated Bioprocessing Laboratory in Urbana in October of 2014. Part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, the facility will feature a biofuels pilot plant for UI's Center for BioEnergy Research. Supporting collaborative development with industry partners, the 43,000-sf lab will provide two classrooms, flexible processing suites with moveable walls, and 300-liter fermenters for biofuels testing.
Bristol-Myers Squibb will build a 323,000-sf biologics manufacturing facility in Dublin, Ireland. Located on the company's existing pharmaceutical production campus, the building will provide open labs and offices, six 15,000-liter bioreactors, and a purification area. The estimated construction cost of the project is $900 million. The facility will accommodate up to 400 employees and is expected to be fully operational in 2019.
Grifols’ North Fractionation Facility in Clayton, N.C., has been named the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) 2014 Facility of the Year for Project Execution. Fluor provided integrated engineering, procurement, construction management, and front-end qualification for this 150,000-sf blood plasma fractionation facility, which was built using modular construction techniques to meet an aggressive construction schedule, incorporate new centrifuge technology, and expand existing plant utilities.
Baxter Healthcare is building a $1 billion biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Covington, Ga. Located in the Stanton Springs development, the 1 million-sf complex will provide laboratories, manufacturing space, testing suites, and warehouse and distribution facilities to support the production of advance plasma-based therapeutics. Construction manager Fluor broke ground on the project in August of 2012 and completion is expected in 2016.
Non-residential construction volumes and pricing continued their upward trend in the second quarter, with prices increasing an average of 2 to 4 percent in the first half of 2013. These factors, along with growing market confidence and a narrowing labor supply, will continue to push new construction costs closer to the trend line for the near to medium term.
Nanoviricides began construction in August of 2013 on a clinical scale cGMP production plant in Shelton, Conn. Designed by Id3A, the project includes renovation of an existing 18,000-sf facility to provide research labs, offices, and a cGMP pharmaceutical manufacturing suite with cleanrooms for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The project manager and engineering consultant for the renovation is MPH Engineering. Completion is expected in early 2014.
Continued signs of stable economic growth indicate that the recovery is gaining momentum in many parts of the United States and Canada. Construction selling prices for institutional projects grew at a 6 percent annualized rate in 2012, on top of a 3 percent increase in 2011. Construction costs are expected to continue stabilizing and rising in many regions as market confidence and capital spending increase.
