2007 Mid-Year Review: Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry Completes $1.39 Billion in North American Capital Projects

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). With the first half of the year drawing to an end, a look back over the past six months reveals that the pharmaceutical-biotech industry has completed over $1.3 billion in capital and MRO projects. The 49 projects are spread through North America and carry an average total investment value (TIV) of $28 million. Following the current spending trends within the industry, the majority of these projects are sourced from universities and added or expanded research facilities. All figures are based on a recent analysis of the active reports found in the Pharmaceutical Tracker - Online Database,

The Southeast Region scored the highest in terms of TIV, garnering eight projects worth an impressive $283 million, resulting in a per project TIV average of $35 million. The largest individual project in the region to complete construction was St. Jude Hospital's (Memphis, Tennessee) $114 million research diagnostics tower. The next largest is a bit further south, in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, where Janssen-Ortho LLC wrapped up a $52 million expansion at its multi-product pharmaceutical plant. The company has invested over $250 million at the site dating back to 2003.

The Mid-Atlantic Region was second in TIV for the first half of 2007 at $243 million, but first with its total of 10 projects. The largest to wrap up was the $126 million Science Complex Sitterson/Kenan research expansion at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Another university claimed second place in the region, as Emory finished building the $50 million Evans Medical Research Building in Atlanta.

The largest traditional pharmaceutical-biotech project, as if there is such a thing these days, was Amylin Pharmaceutical's $84 million investment in Westchester, Ohio. The phase I project added 150,000 square-feet of biopharmaceutical production and development space. The company cheered the area with its further announcement of its plans to make a total investment of over $400 million at the site. Amylin will use the plant to manufacture a long-acting release (LAR) formulation of exenatide, a product candidate in development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

When considering the remaining six months of the year, it will be interesting to see how many of the 231 projects scheduled for completion actually are completed. If each one makes it through its punch list by New Year's Eve, the TIV for that time period will tally in at nearly $6 billion. Translating to almost a $1 billion investment per month, everyone's favorite punching bag of an industry will deserve to uncork the champagne at midnight.

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