Abbott Laboratories opened its $300 million pediatric nutrition manufacturing plant in February of 2009 in Tuas South, Singapore. Located in Tuas Biomedical Park 2, the 5,000-sm facility will accommodate 300 employees. Abbott is also planning to open a $20 million nutrition science R&D center at Biopolis, where it opened its first Asian pharmaceutical R&D facility in January of 2009.
Millipore opened the 8,000-sf Biomanufacturing Sciences and Training Center (BSTC) in Singapore in February of 2009. Located in Science Park in Buona Vista, the facility will provide training and support for Millipore’s biopharmaceutical customers in Asia. Millipore is a global life sciences company based in Billerica, Mass.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded Novartis a $486 million contract in early 2009 to build pandemic flu vaccine manufacturing facilities in Holly Springs, N.C. The funding will support the design, construction, and validation of flu vaccine production centers over the next eight years, enabling Novartis to supply 150 million doses of cell-based influenza vaccine within six months of the onset of a pandemic.
Roche is constructing a new pharmaceutical R&D facility in Basel, Switzerland. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, Building 97 represents an investment of 250 million Swiss francs and is comprised of two wings reaching five and nine stories high with three basement floors. Building 97 will support 100 researchers. Construction began in August of 2008 with completion expected in the third quarter of 2011.
Abbott celebrated the opening of its new pharmaceutical research and development laboratory in Buona Vista, Singapore, in January of 2008. Located in the Biopolis research park, the facility is Abbott’s first R&D center in Southeast Asia and will support research on active pharmaceutical ingredients. Abbott is also building a nutritional product manufacturing plant in Singapore.
Scripps Research Institute will celebrate the opening of the three-building Scripps Florida campus in Jupiter on February 26, 2009. The 350,000-sf project is sited on 40 acres adjoining Florida Atlantic University and houses biomedical research laboratories, technology space, and offices.
SRI International will open the $16.7 million Center for Advanced Drug Research in Harrisonburg, Va., in August of 2009. Sited on 25 acres in the Rockingham Center for Research and Technology business park, the 40,000-sf building is being constructed by Nielsen Builders. The three-story facility will house offices and laboratories for pharmaceutical research.
The Wistar Institute opened a $1.1 million molecular screening facility on its Philadelphia campus in December of 2008. The facility was created in partnership with the University of the Sciences as the centerpiece of the Center for Chemical Biology and Translational Medicine. Using advanced screening technologies, scientists will be able to identify and characterize new molecules and compounds to create therapeutic drugs.
MedImmune will expand its existing 361,000-sf headquarters campus in Gaithersburg, Fla., with the construction of a 250,000-sf facility. Construction of the seven-story building will begin in 2009 and reach completion in late 2011. The facility will provide pharmaceutical laboratories and offices for up to 600 employees. MedImmune is a subsidiary of AstraZeneca.
Medicago is initiating a $1.5 million expansion of its Quebec City manufacturing facility to support avian flu vaccine production for clinical trials. The 2,500-sf addition will include purification, storage, and cGMP vaccine manufacturing space. Construction will begin in January 2009 and reach completion by year-end 2009. Medicago’s existing building, housing 10,000-sf of BSL-2 space and 3,000-sf of cGMP manufacturing space, will begin production of an H5N1 vaccine for Phase 1 clinical trials in 2009. The new addition will house Phase 2 clinical studies.
Biogen Idec will relocate its headquarters to a 350,000-sf facility in Weston, Ma., in 2010. Construction of the Weston facility is being managed by Boston Properties. Biogen Idec’s previous 375,000-sf headquarters in Cambridge will be converted into laboratory space.
The International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) opened its 36,000-sf Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory in New York City in November of 2008. Located in Brooklyn, the translational research project will anchor a planned 500,000-sf bioscience industry complex in the redeveloped Brooklyn Army Terminal. IAVI’s Design Lab will support AIDS vaccine research and is affiliated with the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center. The $17 million lab is designed to foster industry and academic collaboration and will accommodate 40 researchers.
Merck Serono is engaged in a €300 million expansion of its biologics manufacturing campus in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. The expanded Merck Serono Biotech Center will support the production of therapeutics for colorectal and head and neck cancers as well as autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The project will feature two dedicated production suites, each with a 120,000-liter bioreactor capacity. A logistics center and a wastewater treatment station will also be constructed. Production is expected to begin in 2012.
Merck Sharp and Dohme will begin construction in summer of 2009 on a €220 million vaccine manufacturing plant in Carlow, Ireland. Located in the IDA Business and Technology Park, the project includes formulation, manufacturing, and sterile filling facilities. Accommodating R&D, quality control, and administration, the building will support 170 employees and is expected to reach completion in 2011. Merck Sharp and Dohme is the U.K. subsidiary of Merck & Co.
Tokuda Hospital is partnering with PharmaCell to build a $6.4 million human cell and tissue culture facility in Sofia, Bulgaria. Construction of the GMP facility is expected to begin in early 2009. Tokuda Hospital Sofia is owned by Japanese healthcare company Tokushukai Medical.
