Emergent BioSolutions was awarded a contract by the Department of Health and Human Services to expand anthrax vaccine production at its facility in Lansing, Mich. The contract was awarded by the Office of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and will increase manufacturing capacity to 26 million doses per year. The value of the contract is estimated at $107 million over five years.
Wayne County will begin construction in July of 2010 on the $1.5 million Michigan Center for Regenerative Medicine in Plymouth. The 21,000-sf facility will house wet labs, offices, and manufacturing space to support stem cell research and development for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. The center will be operated by Michigan Research Institute in Ann Arbor with Innovative BioTherapies as the anchor tenant. Completion is expected in late fall of 2010.
Vivalis has relocated its research and development operations to a new 35,520-sf facility in Nantes, France. The €6.5 million biologics research facility is located adjacent to Vivalis’ existing bioproduction building and will support accelerated product development.
CPL Biologicals completed construction in June of 2010 on its vaccine manufacturing plant in Dholka, India. The 25,000-sf facility will utilize virus-like particle (VLP) technology to produce commercial-scale quantities of influenza vaccines. The plant will be able to produce over 60 million doses annually at full capacity. Ground was broken on the project in fall of 2009. CPL Biologicals is a joint venture of Novavax and Cadila Pharmaceuticals of India.
The Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies is planning to construct the R1.6 billion Russia Preclinical Nanotoxicology Research Center in Dubna. Offering GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) pharmaceutical testing services, the 10,000-sm facility will support collaborative research with Moscow State University and The Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute (LRRI) of New Mexico. The project architect is HDR.
Texas A&M University is partnering with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to build the National Center for Therapeutic Manufacturing. The 153,000-sf research and development complex is under construction in College Station with completion expected in late 2011. Designed to accelerate the development of oncology therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, the facility will provide research labs, biological pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, and modular cleanroom pods.
The Translational Research Institute (TRI) selected Watpac Construction in May of 2010 to construct its $354 million research facility in Brisbane. Located at Princess Alexandra Hospital, the TRI will house integrated facilities for the discovery, production, clinical testing, and manufacture of new biopharmaceuticals and therapies. Occupancy is expected in mid-2012.
Genentech opened its $400 million pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution complex in Hillsboro, Ore., in April of 2010. The 150,000-sf therapeutics filling and packaging facility will distribute Genentech's biologic cancer drugs.
Isis Pharmaceuticals is expanding its operations in Carlsbad, Calif., with the lease of an additional 176,000-sf research facility. The building will be constructed by BioMed Realty Trust. The research facility will enable Isis to consolidate the majority of its drug discovery, development, and manufacturing operations in a single location.
Med Fusion, a partnership of Baylor Health Care System, Texas Oncology, Pathologists Biomedical Laboratories, and US Oncology, will begin offering integrated translational research services in spring of 2010. The company is headquartered in Dallas and has leased a 172,000-sf facility in Lewisville. Med Fusion will provide integrated pharmaceutical development and clinical trial services.
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is partnering with Battelle, IBM, Merck, and GE Healthcare to plan the construction of a vaccine factory in the Pittsburgh area. Operated in partnership with the federal government, the facility would support rapid response to bioterrorism and infectious disease threats. The construction cost of the vaccine factory is estimated at $900 million.
Lotus Pharmaceuticals began construction in March of 2010 on a nine-story building in Beijing. Housing offices, R&D facilities, production space, and storage, the project will include GMP pharmaceutical manufacturing suites.
Genzyme is expanding its research facilities in Cambridge in the United Kingdom with the construction of a 10,000-sf addition atop its existing 8,000-sf Europe Research Facility. Doubling laboratory and office space, the project will expand pharmaceutical R&D capabilities as well as providing space for clinical trials.
Sinovac Biotech is establishing a five-building vaccine manufacturing campus in Beijing, China. The 32,323-sm project represents an investment of $17.6 million. Housing two production lines, filling and packaging, warehouse space, and a vivarium, the campus will produce vaccines for influenza and enterovirus 71. The facilities will be fully operational in 2012.
South Dakota State University is building the $51 million Avera Health and Science Center in Brookings, S.D. Created in partnership with Avera Health, the 144,000-sf project is comprised of 96,000 sf of new construction and 48,000 sf of renovated space. Housing the College of Pharmacy and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the center will provide classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, and faculty offices. Construction began on the project in June of 2008. The facility will open in fall of 2010.
