Big Pharma Gaining Strength in 2010

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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Capital spending in 2010 for the North American Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry will experience "a healthy amount of growth" from 2009 levels, according to the new Industrial Info 2010 Outlook for the industry.

Industrial Info is tracking 506 projects in North America with a total investment value (TIV) of $15.3 billion that are scheduled to kick off in 2010, according to Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info's vice president for research for the Pharmaceutical and Biotech Industry. By contrast, last year saw 453 projects with a TIV of $13.4 billion kick off.

"The Pharma/Biotech industry is one of the biggest and strongest industries in the world, and even when things seem bad, they are actually pretty good by comparison to other industries," said Kreuger. Although the health care debate in the U.S. has been rancorous, she notes that passage of health care legislation will create 30 million new health care customers in the U.S. Overseas markets such as China offer sizably more growth potential.

This year's capital budgets for pharmaceutical and biotech companies won't approach the levels seen a few years ago. "But the good news is that when pharmaceutical and biotech companies announce capital projects, they almost always take place," said Kreuger. "Some may be delayed, but compared to other industries, a much higher proportion of announced projects actually get built."

Mergers thinned the ranks of Pharma and Biotech companies last year, causing the closure of facilities in North America as part of the consolidation and rationalization process. But the prospect of expanding markets in the U.S. and overseas, and the continuing need to discover and patent new medication, will lead to expanded capital and maintenance project opportunities during the second half of 2010 and into 2011, predicts Kreuger, who sees the industry growing 3% to 4% in 2010.

Like all of Industrial Info's 2010 industry outlooks, the projection for capital and maintenance spending by pharmaceutical and biotech companies is driven by the company's rigorous quality-assurance procedures, which ensure that capital and maintenance project spending data is reported, confirmed, and frequently updated. Industrial Info's quality-assurance principle, which it trademarked as the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, ensures that clients are provided with the most accurate and current market intelligence on industrial project spending around the world, including capital projects, maintenance spending, analytics, and market forecasting.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project spending opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.