Gilead Sciences is planning to begin construction in early 2013 on a 45,000-sf research and development facility in Edmonton, Alberta. Located in the Eco Industrial Business Park, the three-story building will provide offices and laboratories for process chemistry and analytical drug discovery. The facility will be designed by Manasc Isaac Architects to accommodate 80 researchers.
When the Institute for Animal Health in Pirbright, U.K., launched a significant upgrade of aging infrastructure to improve health- and safety-related systems at its high-level containment facilities, project leaders undertook a benchmarking process to determine how much the upgrades would cost to operate and how Pirbright's organizational structure compared with similar facilities in preparing to meet long-range goals.
Eli Lilly will begin construction in late 2012 on a $140 million expansion of its Indianapolis pharmaceutical manufacturing campus. The 80,000-sf addition will support the production of insulin cartridges. Completion is expected in March of 2014 with operations beginning in 2015.
Novartis will invest $500 million to construct a cell-based biomanufacturing facility in Singapore. Located adjacent to its existing pharmaceutical plant in Tuas, the new biologics center will support both clinical and commercial production of biological therapies such as monoclonal antibodies. Construction will begin in early 2013 with full operations commencing in late 2016.
Researchers at the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in the United Kingdom have developed a way to safely anesthetize and transfer animals from BSL-3 and BSL-4 containment to a mobile imaging facility for CT and MRI scans without breaking the containment barrier. The process allows them to obtain the high-resolution, three-dimensional images necessary for their research without building a costly suite onsite.
The University of British Columbia opened the $133 million Pharmaceutical Sciences Building in September of 2012 in Vancouver. The 246,182-sf facility provides collaborative learning spaces and multidisciplinary research labs. The building houses both the Centre for Drug Research and Development and the Centre for High-Throughput Phenogenomics, which includes an advanced imaging suite. The facility was designed by Saucier + Perrotte Architects and Hughes Condon Marler Architects (HCMA).
The $354 million Translational Research Institute (TRI) Queensland will be completed in late 2012 in Brisbane. The project is a joint venture of the University of Queensland, Mater Medical Research Institute, Queensland University of Technology, and Princess Alexandra Hospital, where the facility is located. The 345,000-sf center will support integrated research, production, testing, and manufacturing of biopharmaceutical therapies.
Shire Regenerative Medicine will begin construction in early 2013 on a 150,000-sf campus in San Diego. Sited on 28 acres, the project will provide labs, offices, warehouses, and manufacturing space for the creation and production of advanced therapeutics. Initial occupancy is expected in 2014. Shire Regenerative Medicine is a subsidiary of Shire Pharmaceuticals of Dublin, Ireland. Shire's U.S. headquarters is located in Wayne, Pa.
Genzyme Corporation's $85 million Biologics Support Center has attained LEED Gold sustainable design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Located in Framingham, Mass., the six-story, 186,000-sf facility provides laboratories, technical support, offices, conference rooms, manufacturing, R&D space, and a data center. The project was designed by ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge and was completed in July of 2011.
Baxter International broke ground in August of 2012 on a $1 billion biologics manufacturing complex east of Atlanta near Covington, Ga. Located in the Stanton Springs development, the facility will support the creation of advanced plasma-based therapeutics and will accommodate 1,500 employees. Completion of the first manufacturing building is expected in 2015. Other buildings on site will house testing laboratories and warehouse space; completion is expected in 2016. Commercial production will commence in 2018.
The University of Dundee began building the $20 million Centre for Translational and Interdisciplinary Research in Scotland in July of 2012. Part of the College of Life Sciences, the four-story facility will house collaborative drug discovery research with labs, offices, support, and a high-throughput robotic and molecular pharmacology suite. Disciplines represented in the facility will include mathematical biology and biophysics, bioinformatics, and data analysis.
Baxter International will begin construction in 2012 on a $1 billion biologics manufacturing complex in Atlanta. Accommodating over 1,500 employees, the facility will support the creation of advanced plasma-based therapeutics. Commercial production is expected to begin in 2018.
Cubist Pharmaceuticals has completed a 104,000-sf expansion of its headquarters facility in Lexington, Mass. The Richmond Group managed the design/build project, which provides additional laboratories for the development of antibiotics and acute care products. Due to site restrictions and the existing building's footprint, the most cost effective solution for expansion was to build vertically.
The Strategy for UK Life Sciences was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron in December of 2012. The measures include $116 million for construction of a planned bioinformatics hub near Cambridge and $77 million for a Cell Therapy Technology and Innovation Centre in London. The initiative also provides $480 million to promote commercialization of biomedical research discoveries through collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry.
Biomeasure, a subsidiary of French pharmaceutical company Ipsen, is initiating a $45 million expansion and renovation of its campus in Milford, Mass. Ground will be broken in mid-2012 on a three-story, 62,000-sf facility housing R&D and process science labs. Two existing buildings at the site, a research facility and a cGMP manufacturing plant totaling 77,000 sf, will be extensively renovated. Completion is expected in early 2014.
