New England Takes $8.4 Billion Slice of Pharmaceutical-Biotech Capital/MRO Investment Pie

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--There are nearly 1,350 active Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry capital and maintenance (MRO) projects in North America, representing a total investment value (TIV) of $61 billion. According to a recent analysis of Industrial Info's Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry database, the New England region is at the top, accounting for an $8.4 billion portion of that spending for 126 projects.

Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the breakdown of active Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry projects in the New England region.

New England has long been a favorite of the industry, hosting an impressive roster of the top biotech and pharmaceutical companies, along with nascent but promising start-ups. The region's attractions include formidable intellectual capacity and strong governmental support. The projects in play range from $1 million annual maintenance programs, to a $600 million expansion project. Project activity varies from early planning to active construction status.

Of the $8.4 billion worth of industry capital investment in New England, $4.3 billion, divided over 56 sites, are already under construction, including the two projects discussed below. That leaves a healthy $4.1 billion to be invested in 70 projects that have a future kick-off date.

The region includes the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Of these, Massachusetts is the leader in attracting industry spending, with nearly $5.7 billion invested in 75 active projects. The "Bay State" could surely claim honors as the "Bio State," as the project average TIV is a whopping $76 million.

An interesting aspect of the state's top project is that it is a true industry investment, rather than a public or institutional job. Industry naysayers and reinvention aside, the Pharmaceutical-Biotech industry is still spending money and lots of it.

Swiss drug giant Novartis (NYSE:NVS) is constructing a $600 million expansion project at its Institutes for Biomedical Research division in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Under a lease agreement with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the company is renovating a 33,000-square-foot facility and building two more, including one at seven stories that is 262,000 square feet, and another at eight stories that is 277,000 square feet. The project team includes Cannon Design (Boston, Massachusetts) and Skanska USA (Boston), and the goal is to achieve a LEED Gold certification for the new buildings.

View Project Report - 35000899
View Plant Profile - 1058686

Connecticut, while a distant second to Massachusetts' abundance, has a respectable $1.8 billion worth of active projects in play divided among 26 projects. The state got a boost from The Jackson Laboratory's (Bar Harbor, Maine) decision to invest $300 million into building a personalized research center. Located on the 160-acre University of Connecticut Health Center campus, the 190,000-square-foot JAX Genomic Medicine Laboratory will always be the one that "got away" for Florida. After serious negotiations over a couple of locations in the Sunshine State, incentive talks bogged down and the project was moved to Connecticut. The project team includes Gilbane (Glastonbury, Connecticut), BVH Integrated Services (Bloomfield, Connecticut), Whiting-Turner Contracting (New Haven, Connecticut) and Diversified Project Management (Hartford, Connecticut.)

View Project Report - 300046665
View Plant Profile - 3037567

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.