Avalon Pharmaceuticals, a genomics-based research company, has relocated its headquarters to a 55,000-sf facility in Germantown, Md., featuring expanded research and development capabilities. The headquarters, sited in the Seneca Meadows Corporate Center, should be operational in the first quarter of 2003.
Impax, a pharmaceutical company engaged in reformulating generic versions of popular drugs, has opened a new 85,000-sf research and manufacturing facility in Hayward where the company is based. Impax will increase its employee base from 85 to 190 by the end of 2002.
Diosynth, a Netherlands-based pharmaceutical company, is planning to purchase 91.3 acres of land in Research Triangle Park (RTP) on which to build 300,000 sf of new manufacturing space. Diosynth currently has labs and offices in Cary, N.C., totalling 30,000 sf and 110,000 sf of manufacturing space in RTP.
DPT Laboratories Ltd. of San Antonio, a developer, manufacturer, packager and distributer of over-the-counter and prescription skin-care products for pharmaceutical companies, is in the process of completing a $5-million, 32,000-sf R&D facility housing additional chemistry labs and accommodating 75 scientists. The building will both support DPT's contract manufacturing operations, as well as provide expansion space for the company's live-cell therapy research.
Orix Real Estate Equities of Chicago is planning to build Washingtonian South, a two-building, 350,000-sf Class A office complex and parking structure in Gaithersburg. Located on a 7.4-acre site in the mixed-use Washingtonian Center business park, the development will be marketed to health and life science tenants. Construction is slated to begin in the fall.
Idec Pharmaceuticals is planning a five-building, 470,000-sf biotech factory in Oceanside. The $500-million complex, with a 90,000-liter biologic manufacturing capacity, will be sited on 60 acres and will be comparable in size to Disneyland.
Eli Lilly and Co. has selected the Raleigh office of Suitt Construction Co. to provide construction management services, including site development and utility installation, for a $425-million insulin manufacturing facility in Prince William County, Va. Construction will begin later this year.
The fourth floor of EmeryStation North is being converted by Wareham Development into laboratory facilities where 30,000 sf of the Emeryville building will house flexible lab and office space. Initial construction costs for the facility ranged from $200 to $250 per sf, with an additional $150 to $250 for conversion to lab space. The conversion began in January 2002 and is slated for completion at the end of the summer.
Advancis Pharmaceutical has broken ground on a lab, office, and manufacturing facility for drug development in Germantown. Advancis, based in Germantown, expects the 62,000-sf facility to reach completion in early 2003.
Targacept, an R&D product development spin-off from R.J. Reynolds, has moved into its new 44,000-sf headquarters and research facility in Winston-Salem. Located in the Piedmont Triad Research Park, the new building will enable Targacept’s employee base to increase from its current 56 to 78 by year-end.
Dynport Vaccine, a joint venture between DynCorp and pharmaceutical company Porton International, has broken ground on a three-story office in Frederick. Dynport Vaccine, the prime systems contractor for the Department of Defense’s vaccine acquisition program, will use the facility to develop biodefense vaccines for FDA production and licensing. The building will consolidate four facilities, as well as providing Department of Defense office space.
Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals has initiated the second phase of construction on its five-building Collegeville expansion. The $220-million project was designed by The Kling Lindquist Partnership of Philadelphia and is being built by Barclay White Skanska USA of Blue Bell, Pa. The 720,000-sf development consists of four four-story administrative buildings and a 1,060-space, three-story parking garage with additional surface parking available for 1,000 cars.
Idec Pharmaceuticals of San Diego broke ground on the first phase of a $1.25-billion large-scale manufacturing project on May 30. The first phase, totalling 470,000-sf in five buildings, is part of a planned three-phase, 1.3 million-sf new products manufacturing development. The first phase is scheduled for occupancy in November 2004.
TheraSense of Alameda, Calif., is doubling its facilities with the lease of 64,000 sf of build-to-suit space adjacent to its existing building in Alameda. TheraSense will invest $3-million in tenant improvements for the facility, which will expand the sales and manufacturing capacity for TheraSense's diabetes blood-testing kits. TheraSense plans to add 50 employees to its current 400-person staff when the new space is completed in April of 2003.
Viral Antigens is developing a 2,500-sf biologic manufacturing facility attached to the company's existing Memphis facility. After eighteen months of planning and construction, the final certification of the $2.5-million contract factory will begin. The plant will manufacture proteins and other products, providing clean-room production for smaller biotech companies and researchers still in Phase I development.
