Industry News

Chapel Hill-based Synthon Pharmaceuticals will construct a $20 million pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Mebane, N.C., that will employ between 100 and 120 workers.

The Iams Co., a maker of pet food and care products, is developing the Iams Pet Imaging Center at North Carolina State University’s Centennial Biomedical Campus. The 3,348-sf project will be the region’s first MRI facility dedicated for use on pets and domestic animals. The Pet Imaging Center is slated to open in spring of 2004.

Nanomanufacturing company Molecular Imprints is planning to expand its operations in Austin, Texas with the lease of 19,000 sf near its current 16,000-sf location. Molecular Imprints will also open new distribution centers in Germany and Japan for its semiconductor chip imprinting machinery.

The Science Park-Research Division of the University of Texas’ M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is expanding its Smithville, Texas, campus with the addition of a 10,000-sf conference center. The project includes a 300-seat auditorium and a new physical plant. Construction will begin in early 2004. The division’s campus currently houses five buildings on 720 acres.

Diablo Valley College, a Pleasant Hill, Calif.-based community college, broke ground in November 2003 on its new campus in San Ramon, Calif. Sited on seven acres, the $26.4- million campus will feature classrooms, three multi-purpose labs with 32 computer stations, four science labs, and art studios. A library, senior center and childcare facility will be built adjacent to the campus. The project is expected to reach completion in 2006.