Pharma-Bio 3Q08 Construction Update: 15 New Facilities Open Doors to Potential $1.9 Billion Investment

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As the third quarter of 2008 winds to a close, the Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industry will have completed construction on 15 new plants and research centers across North America. A recent survey of active reported projects in Industrial Info's Pharmaceutical Tracker - Online Database revealed that cumulatively, the projects represent a potential total investment value (TIV) of $1.9 billion, which includes both original construction costs and any possible future phases that are already planned or under consideration. The projects reported on include both grassroot facilities as well as major building additions to existing sites.

Click on the image at right to see a list of 3Q08 Pharma-Bio facilities.

An analytical look at the projects reveals that the actual number of plants scheduled to open in 3Q08 dropped 20% from the same time period in 2007, when 18 new North American sites opened. On the other hand, and perhaps more importantly, the TIV potential for those 15 plants jumped an astronomical 160% from the 3Q07 figure of $746 million. Each of the 3Q08 facilities carries an impressive average potential TIV of $105 million per site. Sources for the new build activity include private industry, commercial developers, universities and the federal government.

The projects that were completed from July through September 2008 are a diverse group in terms of size and focus. Opelika, Alabama, welcomed Gambro Renal Product's (Lakewood, Colorado) new $125 million plant. The 100,000-square-foot facility opened in July and has the capacity to annually produce 10 million Polyflux dialyzers to serve patients with kidney failure who must undergo dialysis treatment several times weekly.

From a regional standpoint, the Southeast led the pack with five new facilities coming online. In addition to the Gambro plant, the region welcomed an $18 million distribution center in Memphis, Tennessee. Smith & Nephew (Memphis, Tennessee) will use the new site, which was built by local company Belz Enterprises to accommodate distribution of its orthopedic product line. The remaining new plants for the quarter were located throughout North America.

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