Pharmaceutical

Design of Roche Diagnostic 's new 440,000-sf PCR Manufacturing Center in Branchburg, N.J., is nearing completion. PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is leading-edge technology in the field of molecular diagnostics. The facility will include a new state-of-the-art 230,000-sf pharmaceutical manufacturing center, a 32,000-sf office building (completed), and the renovation of a 180,000-sf existing laboratory and office headquarters for Roche Molecular Systems. The manufacturing facility is slated for completion in November 2004.

Novavax has completed the relocation of its headquarters from Columbia, Md., to 33,000 sf in the Great Valley Corporate Center in Malvern, Pa. The facility will enable the consolidation of Novavax's women's health and drug delivery operations in a single facility. Novavax will continue to occupy two R&D labs, one located in Rockville, Md., and one in California.

New Jersey-based Merck & Co. is planning to construct the 600,000-sf headquarters for its U.S. Human Health Division on a 154-acre site in Lower Gwynedd Township , Pa. Construction is slated to begin in mid-2005 and reach completion in two years. Additionally, Merck expects to complete the 375,000-sf expansion of its existing facility in Upper Gwynedd Township in 2006. The cost of both projects is estimated at $200 million.

Fremont, Calif.-based Protein Design Labs has opened a 210,000-sf commercial-scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Brooklyn Park , Minn. The facility will produce humanized monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of conditions including cancer and inflammatory diseases.

Protein Design Labs opened a new 210,000-sf biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Brooklyn Park , Minn., on July 22, 2004 . The facility will start producing monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of medical conditions by 2007.

Connetics Corp., a maker of acne and dermatological disease products, is relocating within the city of Palo Alto, Calif. from 53,000 sf at its current West Bayshore Road location to 96,000 sf in the Stanford Research Park. Connetics may also lease an additional 20,000 sf in an adjacent building at the site, which is the former headquarters of Incyte Corp. The move and subsequent renovations at the new location will double Connetics’ office and laboratory space.

PRA International, a clinical research company, broke ground in late April 2004 on a 101,000-sf facility in Lenexa, Mo. The facility, sited in the Renner Ridge Corporate Center, is expected to reach completion in approximately one year. PRA International designs and coordinates clinical drug trials locally and around the world.

Scripps/University Biotech Consortium is planning to build a Florida Universities and Scripps East Research Consortium Center adjacent to its planned 364,000-sf facility in Palm Beach County. Sited on 150 acres, the first phase of the $10 million, 15,000-gsf project includes design and construction of a campus gateway, a central utility plant, a large reception area, office suites, and meeting rooms.

M+W Zander U.S. Operations is completing the $3.5-million office and cleanroom construction training center in 60,000 sf of Building 44 at the Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, N.Y. A joint venture of Albany NanoTech, Arsenal Business and Technology Partnership, and M+W Zander, the center will train members of the Pipe Fitters Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and sheet metal workers to construct and maintain cleanroom facilities and install precision machinery.

Bayer Animal Health broke ground on March 2, 2004 on a $14-million, 232,000-sf warehousing and distribution center in Shawnee, Kan. Located at the company’s 52-acre site, the facility will warehouse and distribute animal and human pharmaceuticals as well as accommodating office space for a customer call center. Project contractor Clayco of St. Louis is slated to complete construction by year-end 2004. Bayer Animal Health is a division of Bayer HealthCare LLC.

Albuquerque-based TCI Medical plans to break ground on a Carlsbad, Calif., manufacturing plant by June 2004 to produce its medical products. TCI, a startup nuclear pharmaceutical company, provides radioactive isotopes for the diagnosis and treatment of heart ailments, cancer, and circulatory problems.

St. Louis-based Sigma Aldrich Corp. will construct an $8-million laboratory-scale production facility in Hyderabad, India. Expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2005, the 50,000-sf complex will eventually house up to 80 chemists doing contract research and process development for the pharmaceutical industry.

Pharmaceutical company NitroMed Inc. is expanding its corporate headquarters and research facilities with a relocation from Bedford to Lexington, Mass. The site, 52,000-sf of renovated space at the Spring Street Technology Park, was previously the headquarters of Raytheon Co. NitroMed is currently developing nitric oxide-enhancing medicines to treat heart disease.

Bayer Healthcare Diagnostics Division is relocating from Medfield to 100,000-sf in Norwood, Mass. A $5-million wet lab will be developed in the facility prior to occupancy in January 2005. 

Pharmaceutical giant Merck is constructing a 300,000-sf facility in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston. Slated to open in late 2004, the 18-story facility will employ 450 workers.