Manufacturing

Advanced manufacturing (AM) experts say companies around the country that are currently trying to build up their AM capabilities are held back by three things: experience with cutting-edge AM equipment, experts who can show how to take full advantage of such equipment’s capabilities, and highly trained workers who have the skills to operate the equipment. Administrators at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla hope to fill all three gaps with the help of a new facility they call The Missouri Protoplex. 

Iowa State University dedicated the Therkildsen Industrial Engineering Building in May of 2025 in Ames. The four-story, 80,660-gsf facility provides a dynamic new home for the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering's teaching, research, and administrative activities. The $70 million project features technically enhanced environments where students can gain the specialized knowledge to design tomorrow’s innovative, safe, and nimble production processes across all industry sectors.

Merck broke ground in April of 2025 on a $1 billion biologics center of excellence in Wilmington, Del. Leveraging sophisticated automation solutions and artificial intelligence technologies, the 470,000-sf facility will offer laboratory, manufacturing, and logistics capabilities. The leading-edge structure will enable the launch and commercial production of next-generation biologics and therapies, including potent antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

The University of Texas at El Paso opened the $80 million Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace Center (AMAC) in April of 2025. Designed by Treanor and Ayers Saint Gross to catalyze discovery and innovation, the leading-edge facility provides sophisticated environments for research, teaching, and hands-on learning. Spanning 98,000 sf, the highly flexible structure houses the College of Engineering’s Aerospace Center and W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation.

Moderna completed construction on a £150 million complex in the United Kingdom for the discovery and production of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19 and emerging respiratory health threats. Located on the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, the Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC) comprises two 145,000-sf buildings for research, development, and manufacturing.

The U.S. Department of Energy broke ground in September of 2024 on the Energy Materials and Processing at Scale (EMAPS) facility in Golden, Colorado. Located on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's South Table Mountain Campus, the $224 million development will create a direct path from bench-scale materials and process innovations to pilot-scale integration and production.

Training the scientists and engineers of the future requires academic spaces that are as much as a story taller and 1,000 sf bigger than in the past, and better-equipped to support entrepreneurship, industry partnerships, and hands-on learning. In addition to the standard makerspaces—with metal shops, machining labs, woodshops, prototyping, and 3D printing—students are also experimenting with wind tunnels and large water tanks.

McCord Development is planning to construct BioHub Two in northeast Houston. Comprising 500,000 sf of lab, office, and cGMP manufacturing space, the 45-acre campus will accommodate a total of seven structures offering built-to-suit environments for private companies. This dynamic nexus of innovation and discovery will catalyze synergies with San Jacinto College's planned Biotech Training Center, which will be located nearby.

Ultragenyx opened a 110,000-sf gene therapy manufacturing facility in June of 2023 in Bedford, Mass. Advancing the creation of innovative treatments for rare genetic diseases, the sophisticated structure enables the large-scale manufacture of clinical-stage materials and approved products based on adeno-associated viral vectors (AAV). The highly efficient building integrates the company's proprietary Pinnacle PCL™ (producer cell line) platform which delivers optimal quality and scalability while reducing costs.

Clemson University broke ground in May of 2023 on the $130 million Advanced Materials Innovation Complex in Clemson, S.C. Housing the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the 143,000-sf center will also accommodate select faculty from the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering as they explore interdisciplinary synergies and endeavors. Collaborative research suites will enable teams of investigators to discover new technologies for advanced manufacturing, energy, and health.

The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) has announced the 2023 Facility of the Year Awards category winners. The awards include:

Genentech broke ground in February of 2023 on a $280 million biologics manufacturing center in Oceanside, Calif. The small-batch facility will utilize single-use bioreactors for the commercial production of innovative therapeutics such as personalized medicines and treatments for rare diseases. Featuring advanced automation platforms and digital technologies, the 84,000-sf plant will leverage in-house process improvements to achieve increased flexibility, speed, and output.

Missouri University of Science and Technology will begin construction in late summer of 2023 on a $53.4 million manufacturing innovation hub in Rolla. Designed by Perkins&Will and Mackey Mitchell Architects, the Missouri Protoplex will be the headquarters of a statewide ecosystem where experts, innovators, business owners, and educators develop new production methods and technologies.

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) opened the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre in December of 2022 in Inchinnan in the United Kingdom. Situated in the heart of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland, the £88 million facility features sophisticated GMP environments where new pharmaceutical production methods can be proven at scale.

Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the third quarter of 2022. Key points include: