The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYCSF) opened its 40,000-sf Research Institute in Manhattan in April of 2017. Designed by Ennead Architects, the project accommodates NYCSF’s headquarters and includes a lecture hall, conference rooms, collaboration areas, and flexible laboratories.
AmerisourceBergen Specialty Group is creating a $113 million pharmaceutical campus in Carrollton, Texas. Designed by Gensler, the 300,000-sf build-to-suit facility will be leased by AmerisourceBergen for 12.5 years and will ultimately accommodate up to 2,000 employees. Occupancy is expected in 2019. AmerisourceBergen is a pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution company based in Valley Forge, Pa.
Veterinary pharmaceutical firm HIPRA is planning to begin construction in mid-2017 on its North American headquarters in Mantua Township, N.J. Located on 25 acres in the South Jersey Technology Park at Rowan University, the 375,000-sf facility will house research and development labs for the creation of animal health vaccines. The $100 million project will be developed in several phases and will include manufacturing, distribution, and warehouse space. HIPRA is based in Girona, Spain.
Samsung Biologics is constructing a 1.3 million-sf pharmaceutical production facility in the Songo International Business District in Incheon, South Korea. Accommodating twelve 15-liter bioreactors, the five-story facility will be the world’s largest biologics manufacturing plant when it opens in 2018. Ground was broken on the project in November of 2015.
Canadian pharmaceutical company Apotex began construction in spring of 2017 on a $184 million research and advanced manufacturing center in Miramar, Fla. The facility will house the firm’s U.S. headquarters as well as accommodating R&D, production, and packaging operations. Completion is expected in early 2019.
The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology opened its new facility in the Vienna Biocenter in March of 2017. Designed by ATP Architects and Engineers, the highly flexible building will accommodate 200 investigators engaged in biomedical research and development. Founded in 1985, the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology is funded by research grants and the sponsorship of founding company Boehringer Ingelheim, who invested $57 million in the project. The duration of construction was two and a half years.
Adaptimmune opened its new headquarters in the Philadelphia Navy Yard in March of 2017 in Philadelphia. The 47,400-sf project will include an advanced cGMP manufacturing facility to support the development and commercialization of novel engineered immunotherapies for cancer. The facility was designed by DIGSAU and is expected to attain LEED Gold in the Core & Shell rating system. CBRE’s Life Science Advisory and Project Management Group assisted Adaptimmune during the construction phase of the project.
Just Biotherapeutics is integrating PODs® made by G-CON Manufacturing into the construction of its biologics manufacturing building in China. Located in the Hangzhou Economic & Technology Development Area (HEDA), the cGMP plant will utilize the prefabricated cleanroom units to create a highly flexible and efficient facility. Completion is expected by early 2018.
Sanofi and Lonza initiated a joint venture in March of 2017 to create a $285 million biologics manufacturing center in Visp, Switzerland. The strategic partnership leverages Lonza’s expertise in designing, constructing, and managing large-scale mammalian cell culture facilities with Sanofi’s strength in the discovery and launch of biologics-based treatments. Construction is expected to begin in 2017 on the initial phase of the project, with full operations commencing by 2020.
The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) announced the annual winners for the Facility of the Year Award (FOYA) program in February of 2017. The category winners were:
West-Ward Pharmaceuticals is initiating an expansion of its manufacturing plant in Obetz, Ohio. A two-story, 30,000-sf addition will accommodate the production of medication tablets, with 65 new technicians to be employed at the site by 2020. The expansion will support the manufacture of generic drugs for parent company Hikma Pharmaceuticals and is slated for completion in May of 2018. A 276,000-sf distribution facility will also be constructed at the campus.
Zymeworks opened a 10,000-sf biopharmaceutical laboratory in January of 2017 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The facility will provide a centralized location for the company’s discovery research operations, including antibody generation, medicinal chemistry, bioconjugation, and the development of multifunctional proteins. Zymeworks is a producer of therapeutic agents for clinical-stage research on the treatment of cancer.
The State University of New York at Binghamton is constructing the $60 million School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in New York. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the 105,000-sf building will provide sophisticated teaching and research labs, lecture halls, faculty offices, a library, and student activity space. Accommodating 240 students and approximately 36 faculty members, the four-story facility will feature interactive classrooms that can accommodate lectures as well as team-based learning activities.
After a one-year delay, Congress has passed the 21st Century Cures Act, which includes new funding totaling $4.8 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), $500 million for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to bring novel drug therapies and medical devices to market more quickly, and $1 billion to fight the growing opioid crisis. The NIH funding includes $1.8 billion for Vice President Joseph Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot,” $1.6 billion for President Obama’s BRAIN initiative, and additional money earmarked for precision medicine. The Cures Act funding is separate from, and in addition to, annual NIH budget increases. It comes on the heals of a $2 billion increase in NIH funding last year, the largest increase in a decade. If the trend continues, it could result in a need for additional research infrastructure in the form of renovations and new construction.
Datwyler Sealing Solutions, a pharmaceutical packaging firm based in Switzerland, will break ground in early 2017 on a $102 million manufacturing facility in Middletown, Del. Built to meet the company’s FirstLine standards, the project will feature ultramodern cleanrooms with automated production and camera inspection technologies. The facility is expected to become operational in mid-2018.
