Pharma-Bio Bricks 'n Mortar 2Q13 Update: $6 Billion in Project Starts Reflects 37% Gain in Industry Capital Investment

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--When June 2013 draws to a close, the Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry is forecast to have launched nearly $6 billion worth of North American capital and maintenance projects during the previous three months. The stunning number reflects a 37% increase over last year's figures.

Click on image at right for breakdown by market region.

An analysis by Industrial Info's Pharmaceutical Tracker - Online Database of active capital and maintenance (MRO) projects reveals the 37% jump in spending--from second-quarter 2012's $4.3 billion to $6 billion for second-quarter 2013--represents a gain of $1.5 billion. In terms of actual project counts, it was another gain for second-quarter 2013, moving up to 184 from the 116 launched during second-quarter 2012.

What is encouraging about the second-quarter 2013 statistics is that the projects' average total investment value (TIV) did not suffer a sharp decrease, as is so often the case with higher project counts. This year's average TIV for each of the 184 projects is $33 million, just a slight dip from second-quarter 2012's $36 million.

The largest of the second-quarter 2013 projects is the industry's largest for the entire year. It is unlikely another will top the $1 billion being invested by Baxter International Corporation (NYSE:BAX) (Deerfield, Illinois) to build an approximately 1 million-square-foot plasma fractionation facility with purification and fill/finish suites, equipped for the manufacturing of up to 3 million liters of blood plasma-based therapeutics. Initially operating under the code name "Project Marathon" during negotiations, the company brokered a deal to receive $210 million worth of incentives from the state for the project, which is to be built with the 1,600-acre Stanton Springs development in Covington, Georgia.

Industry giant Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE:JNJ) (New Brunswick, New Jersey) subsidiary Janssen Biotech (Radnor, Pennsylvania) is planning to invest $150 million to build a 300,000-square-foot research and development building in Radnor, Pennsylvania. In a lease agreement with REIT life science heavyweight BioMed Realty Trust (NYSE:BMR) (San Diego, California), the new building will house Immunology, Oncology & Nephrology research and development.

Rounding out the top three for the quarter is ANC Bio Vermont LLC (North Troy, Vermont) and its plan to invest $100 million in Newport, Vermont, to renovate an existing 90,000-square-foot building; construct a 40,000-square-foot addition; and equip all to develop and manufacture stem cell-based therapies and vaccines. Future plans call for the development of artificial organs at the site.

Industrial Info's Pharmaceutical-Biotech Database coverage includes both manufacturing facilities and research laboratories. In addition to commercial operations, the public sector is included as well, due to its enormous volume of capital spending. Our North American Pharmaceutical-Biotech database continues to grow on a nearly daily basis.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, 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.