Pharmaceutical

Aesica Pharmaceuticals opened the $50 million High Capacity Manufacturing Facility in Queenborough in the United Kingdom in February of 2014. Designed and built by Scitech, the project will produce one billion tablets a year at current capacity. A second phase of expansion will enable the plant to manufacture 2.5 billion tablets annually. The building features two 59-foot spray granulators and a 925-gallon MatCon IBC (intermediate bulk container). Kirk Saunders was the civil and structural engineer for the project.

Emory University’s 200,000-sf Health Sciences Research Building (HSRB) provides both wet and dry labs and BSL-2 and BSL-3 containment to pursue research in drug discovery, immunology and vaccines, neurosciences, cancer, gastroenterology, transplant immunology, nephrology, biomedical engineering, and human genetics.

Baxter Healthcare is building a $1 billion biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Covington, Ga. Located in the Stanton Springs development, the 1 million-sf complex will provide laboratories, manufacturing space, testing suites, and warehouse and distribution facilities to support the production of advance plasma-based therapeutics. Construction manager Fluor broke ground on the project in August of 2012 and completion is expected in 2016. Commercial production of biologics will commence in 2018 at the campus, which will accommodate 1,500 employees.

Merck began building a new pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Reinbek, Germany, in December of 2013. The $55 million project will provide laboratories and cleanrooms for the production of asthma and allergy diagnosis and treatment solutions. The two-story, 65,000-sf facility will support Merck’s business objective to supply emerging markets including China. Completion is expected in 2016.

The University of Texas at Tyler will begin construction in spring of 2014 on the Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy. The design team for the 60,000-sf facility includes SmithGroup JJR and Eubanks Harris Roberts Craig Architects. The project is funded in part by a $22 million donation. The University of Texas at Tyler is also planning to begin construction in 2014 on a $4 million addition to the Fine and Performing Arts Center as well as a new alumni house.

Washington State University dedicated the $78.6 million Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Sciences Building in December of 2013. Designed by NBBJ to foster interaction and collaboration, the 125,000-gsf facility provides open research and teaching labs, flexible classrooms, a 150-seat auditorium, and administrative and faculty offices. Located on the Riverpoint campus in Spokane, the building houses the College of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences and represents the first phase of a planned research complex.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals broke ground on a 300,000-sf R&D facility in late October of 2013 in Westchester County, N.Y. The build-to-suit project is being developed by BioMed Realty Trust and is located at the 116-acre Landmark at Eastview campus. Upon completion in late 2015, the drug discovery lab facility will be leased by Regeneron for 15 years.

Merck will begin building a $108 million pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in China in 2014. Located in the BioSpark development in Nantong, the 430,560-sf building will meet stringent international quality standards for the production of therapeutics. The highly efficient facility will be designed to minimize waste during the manufacturing process. Completion is expected in 2016 with commercial operations commencing in 2017.

St. Louis College of Pharmacy will begin construction in spring of 2014 on a $50 million teaching and research building. The six-story, 213,000-sf facility will house classrooms, study areas, a library, an auditorium, and 30,000 sf of research space. The project team includes architect Cannon Design and construction manager Paric Corp. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2015. 

Bayer HealthCare opened its new headquarters in Hanover Township, N.J., in October of 2013. The two-building, 700,000-sf office project consolidates operations from four separate locations and will accommodate 2,400 employees. The headquarters was constructed by transforming two obsolete structures into a spacious and sustainable facility featuring a five-story glass atrium.

The New York Genome Center opened its $54 million facility in Manhattan in September of 2013. Providing collaborative research space for academic and industry partners, the 172,000-sf project features wet labs and suites for bioinformatics, sequencing, and data handling. Created by a consortium of 12 institutions, the center will support advanced genomics research to create innovative therapeutic solutions.

The new College of Pharmacy building at the University of Rhode Island allows the College’s scattered facilities to be housed under one roof for the first time.

Non-residential construction volumes and pricing continued their upward trend in the second quarter, with prices increasing an average of 2 to 4 percent in the first half of 2013. These factors, along with growing market confidence and a narrowing labor supply, will continue to push new construction costs closer to the trend line for the near to medium term.

Translational Research Institute (TRI) is a joint venture between The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Queensland University of Technology’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Mater Research, and the Princess Alexandra Hospital Centres for Health Research.

Nanoviricides began construction in August of 2013 on a clinical scale cGMP production plant in Shelton, Conn. Designed by Id3A, the project includes renovation of an existing 18,000-sf facility to provide research labs, offices, and a cGMP pharmaceutical manufacturing suite with cleanrooms for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The project manager and engineering consultant for the renovation is MPH Engineering. Completion is expected in early 2014.