Merix Bioscience Inc. has allocated $39.5 million of private financing to complete a 20,000-sf cell processing facility that will support the company's progress into Phase I clinical trials for its cancer vaccine.
Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc. is moving its headquarters in fall 2001 to 45,000-sf in Watertown, Mass. Enanta utilizes peptide morphing to develop antiviral drugs and currently has 56 employees.
Merck & Co. Inc. has selected the Boston office of Bovis Lend Lease to provide construction management of the Merck Research Center in the Longwood Medical Area. The 12-story, 390,000-sf facility is slated to open in 2004 and will house biology and chemistry labs, a 285-seat auditorium, administrative offices, a six-level below-ground parking structure, and space for mechanical equipment.
Biovail Corp., a Mississauga, Ontario-based pharmaceutical company, has moved into its own 37,000-sf facility in the Southport Business Park in Morrisville on July 20. The company has nearly quadrupled its facility space as part of an expected company-wide expansion in the next two years. Biovail now develops and markets its own brand of pharmaceutical products.
Biopharmaceutical firm Locus Discovery Inc. is leasing 50,000-sf of lab and office space in Blue Bell. Based in West Windsor, N.J., the high-tech drug design company will be relocating approximately 25 staff members to the facility in two stages, to be completed by the end of August. Initially only 25,000-sf will be utilized, with expansion into the entire space to follow in the next three years.
Xoma Ltd., a Berkeley-based biopharmaceutical firm, has planned a $25 million expansion of its existing protein-manufacturing factory. The larger facility will allow Xoma to accommodate more contract work from biotech companies.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has contracted construction firm Barclay White Skanska Inc. of Blue Bell to build a 145,000-sf, $41-million lab in New Brunswick, N.J.
Wyeth Ayerst Laboratories Inc. completed its Office and Technical Center in Malvern, Pa., in March 2001. The St. Davids, Pa.-based pharmaceutical firm contracted architect The Kling Lindquist Partnership of Philadelphia to design the three-story, $63-million, 350,000-sf facility. Barclay White Skanska U.S.A. of Blue Bell, Pa., acted as general contractor.
Emmanuel College in Boston has partnered with Merck & Co. Inc. on a planned 300,000-sf research center. The Merck-owned facility on Emmanuel's 16-acre campus will foster a relationship between the college's biology students and Merck.
Hybrigen Inc., a Dallas drug-targeting company, doubled its biotechnology facility's space to 8,000-sf in May. Hybrigen is one of several biotech-related companies located in Dallas' Stemmons Corridor area.
The Cancer Therapy and Research Center has completed a 20,000-sf expansion of its Institute for Drug Development. Consolidating basic and translational research labs, the facility will focus on developing new cancer treatment therapies. The expansion is funded by a $35 million capital campaign that will also endow the IDD senior scientific chairs.
Biogen Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., plans to build a $350-million factory in Denmark to produce cell cultures for proteins and process the multiple sclerosis drug Avonex. Construction is slated to begin in 2002.
A subsidiary of Nestle SA, Alcon Laboratories Inc. is in the early stages of planning a 400,000-sf expansion of its Fort Worth R&D facility. Approval by Switzerland-based Nestle is pending for construction of the $20-million to $30-million expansion.
Purdue Pharmaceuticals is expanding its new $25 million, 140,000-sf greenfield solid dosage manufacturing facility in Wilson, which ws completed in March 2000. Full-scale manufacturing is scheduled to begin by the second quarter of 2001. At full operation later this year, the facility will accommodate 150 employees. The Southeast Regional office of Clark, Richardson & Biskup Consulting Engineers Inc.
PharmaNet is tripling the size of its operations in Cary, North Carolina. The Princeton, N.J.-based contract research organization provides the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries with a comprehensive range of drug development and consulting services. Slated for September, the expansion of the Cary office will increase square footage from 6,600 to 19,000 and consolidate space on two floors of the Weston One to a larger facility on a single floor.
