Pharmaceutical

The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering has announced the winners of the 2019 Facility of the Year Awards.

ONE Life Sciences is planning to construct the £40 million Bio-Therapeutics Hub for Innovation in Aberdeen in the United Kingdom. Located on the Foresterhill Health Campus, the 69,000-sf facility will provide business incubation space, leasable labs and offices for established companies, collaboration areas, conference rooms, and venues for events and colloquia.

Bluebird Bio opened a 125,000-sf gene and cell therapy manufacturing facility in March of 2019 in Durham, N.C. Representing an $80 million investment, the project is bluebird's first wholly owned facility and will support the production of lentiviral vector for clinical and commercial applications. The building, which is now substantially complete and undergoing equipment commissioning, provides multiple manufacturing suites, quality-control testing labs, and warehouse space.

Merck opened the first M Lab™ Collaboration Center in Europe in March of 2019. Located in Molsheim, France, the facility provides biopharmaceutical customers with a shared, exploratory environment where they can work with Merck scientists and engineers to accelerate the manufacture of new therapies. The 43,000-sf facility offers advanced simulation technologies in a non-GMP environment for end-to-end process development from pre-clinical through full-scale production.

Eisai is building the $100 million Center for Genetics Guided Dementia Discovery (G2D2) in Cambridge, Mass. Sited in the newly constructed Alewife Research Center, the 50,000-sf neuroscience facility will support exploratory drug research on next-generation dementia therapeutics. Featuring numerous interaction zones and huddle areas, the center will provide open offices, a collaboration hub, flexible meeting rooms, and multidisciplinary open labs for the study of biology, chemistry, and automation.

Cellectis entered into a lease agreement in March of 2019 to build the Innovative Manufacturing Plant for Allogeneic Cellular Therapies (IMPACT) in Raleigh, N.C. Designed by Laporte Euro, the facility will produce immunotherapies based on gene-edited allogeneic CAR T-cells (UCART). Colliers International assisted in the real estate transaction. In addition, Cellectis is building a 14,000-sf manufacturing facility in Paris.

Amicus Therapeutics is creating the Global Research and Gene Therapy Center of Excellence in Philadelphia. The 75,000-sf facility will provide collaborative laboratories and offices for the discovery and development of treatments for rare metabolic diseases. Accommodating up to 200 employees, the center will serve as the headquarters for the global Amicus science organization and the gene therapy division’s leadership team. Occupancy is expected in the second half of 2019.

Akouos, a genetic medicine company, has leased 37,500 sf in Boston for its research headquarters. The facility is located in a two-story, 150,000-sf building at 645 Summer Street and will support the discovery and commercialization of therapies for hearing disorders. The project was developed by Pappas Enterprises and renovated by Tocci Building Corporation. The sustainably designed structure has attained LEED Silver certification.

Rosalind Franklin University is building the $50 million Innovation and Research Park in North Chicago, Ill. The four-story, 100,000-sf facility will provide leading-edge research labs, business incubator space, meeting rooms, and common areas. The project will promote collaboration among faculty, industry scientists, and biotech entrepreneurs in order to accelerate the discovery and commercialization of new medical treatments and therapeutics.

Autolus Therapeutics has signed a long-term, full-building lease with Alexandria Real Estate Equities for the construction and development of a build-to-suit facility in Rockville, Md. Located in the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center, the 85,000-sf project will accommodate the company's U.S. headquarters and a commercial-scale manufacturing center for cell therapies. Occupancy is expected in 2021.

EMD Serono is planning to construct a $70 million R&D facility on its existing campus in Billerica, Mass. Supporting research programs in oncology, immuno-oncology, and immunology, the 145,000-sf building will accommodate wet labs, offices, collaboration spaces, and a cafeteria. Designed to attain LEED and WELL certification, the project will provide a healthy and sustainable environment for approximately 400 employees. Completion is expected in 2021. EMD Serono is the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, based in Darmstadt, Germany.

Catalent is initiating an expansion of its biologics manufacturing operations. The global biotechnology company will construct a 60,000-sf facility on its existing campus in Madison, Wis. The project is slated for completion by 2021 and represents an investment of $100 million over the next three years. Catalent will also invest $100 million to increase its manufacturing capacity in Bloomington, Ind.

Merck began construction in January of 2019 on a $300 million pharmaceutical formulation and process development facility in Rahway, N.J. Designed for maximum flexibility, the Formulation Laboratory Experimental (FLEx) Center will feature modular cleanrooms and cGMP manufacturing suites to support multiple modalities including large and small molecule, sterile, and oral solid-dosage products.

Brammer Bio is developing two gene therapy manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts. The company will build out 35,000 sf in an existing 50,000-sf structure in Lexington to create a cGMP manufacturing and quality control operations center. Additionally, Brammer will renovate 8,000 sf in its 66,000-sf commercial cGMP plant in Cambridge to create new production suites to support manufacturing capacity expansion. DPS Group is providing architectural and engineering services for both projects, which are slated for completion in mid-2019.

Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics is creating a stem cell manufacturing center in Madison, Wis. Located in the University Research Park, the $21 million project involves the renovation of 31,500 sf in a facility near the company's existing lab and office building. The completed biomanufacturing plant will meet the requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Completion is expected by March of 2020.