Pharmaceutical

Abgenix Inc. is expanding with a new $50 million, 200,000-sf complex at Ardenwood Corporate Park in Fremont. The interior of an existing 100,000-sf shell building will be customized and a new 100,000-sf structure will be built on adjacent property. Abgenix will use its existing nearby facility for R&D, shifting the corporate headquarters, offices, and labs to the new complex. Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2000, with completion in approximately 14 months. The general contractor is Sobrato Development Cos. of Cupertino, Calif.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to have a guide in place by January 2001 for hospitals on "The Policy of the Reuse of Single Use Devices".

The strategy proposes the following:-to treat hospitals that reprocess single use devices in the same way it treats device manufactures

-to require submission of premarketing data as if reprocessors were seeking to market device for the first time

-to require reprocessors to label single use devices and provide instructions for use.

The National Fire and Protection Agency (NFPA) has partnered with Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA) and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) to build a set of Consensus Codes--a new set of codes for the built environment. Their goal is to provide safety officials with a new consistent and compatible set of codes by the year 2003. As part of the Consensus Code project NFPA also plans to devise a NFPA Building Code.

Merck & Company is building a new 220,000-sf office facility at its headquarters site in Whitehouse Station, N.J. The building was designed by Ballinger of Philadelphia, and will occupy an undeveloped 250-acre parcel adjacent to the headquarters. The three-story buildling can house 800 employees at capacity, and is designed with an open office plan. Amenities include dining areas, training/conference facilities, a fitness center, and credit union.

Boehringer Ingelheim Corp., headquartered in Ridgefield, Conn., has a $52 million expansion underway at its manufacturing plant in Petersburg, south of Richmond. The facility manufactures pharmaceutical compounds and ingredients for prescription drugs.

BASF Bioresearch Corp. (BBC) has begun a $37 million construction project at its facility near the Worcester Biotechnology Park. The existing 365,000-sf structure will undergo the addition of 6,600 sf of warehouse space and the conversion of 36,800 sf to office and space to manufacture the pharmaceutical company's arthritis drug. Completion of the project is scheduled for June 2001. BBC is the biotech unit of BASF Pharma, which is a subsidiary of BASF AG.

US Food and Drug Administration's Phase II consolidation includes a new headquarters at the 700-acre site of the former Naval Surface Warfare Center in Montgomery County, Md. Pending approval of an advance $101,239,000 appropriation in the fiscal 2001 budget, construction would begin in fall 2000 on the new 111,250-sf Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Laboratories. The design for a new lab and office for the Center for Devices and Radiological Health would be included in the appropriation as well.

Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines and Pediatrics plans to produce two new vaccines at its plant in Sanford. Part of the existing 160,000-sf facility will be renovated and a 46,400-sf addition will be built. Wyeth-Lederle has awarded a contract for renovation of three of the labs to InServ's Construction Services Group. The total project cost is $48 million, most of which will purchase new equipment needed for the vaccine products. Wyeth-Lederle is a division of American Home Products Corp.

Aventis SA, based in Strasbourg, France, is expanding its Genomics Center in Cambridge. Completion of the $3 million renovation, which will improve lab and office space at the pharmaceutical company, is anticipated in mid-July. Kennedy & Rossi Inc. of Lexington, Mass., is in charge of the project.

Quintiles Transnational is building a new $3.4 million, 103,000-sf facility, Bradford Place, to consolidate its ten Research Triangle Park offices in one location. Construction began in July 1999 and is scheduled for completion in June 2000. Architects for the project are WGM Design Inc., based in Charlotte, N.C., and Bell/Knott Associates, based in Kansas City, Kan. The general contractor is the Raleigh, N.C., office of Shelco Inc., headquartered in Charlotte.

Tompkins Associates and MARC Systems have entered into a strategic alliance to offer seamless supply chain solutions to the pharmaceutical and health care industries. Through the joint efforts of the respective sales and marketing teams, Tompkins and MARC Systems will enable clients to integrate supply chain execution software with operations best practices. With its extensive functionality and strict inventory control, the MARC product suite is utilized by major pharmaceutical companies to distribute some of the most carefully controlled substances in use.

Serono Laboratories Inc., based in Norwell, Mass., plans to consolidate its offices and labs at a new $20 million, 200,000-sf headquarters that will straddle the town line between Hingham and Rockland. A.W. Perry Inc. of Boston is the developer on the project. Construction has not yet begun, but move-in is scheduled for late 2000.

Serono Labs is a drug-development company and a subsidiary of Ares-Serono Group SA of Geneva, Switz.

EMD Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Germany-based Merck KgaA, is building a 148,000-sf marketing, sales, and clinical research facility in Durham. The Indra Group is the developer of the project.