Pharma-Bio Third-Quarter 2016 Update: $5.8 Billion Investment in Project Starts Reflects Good Health of the Industry

Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--By the time third-quarter 2016 comes to a close, the Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry is on target to have launched nearly $6 billion worth of North American capital and maintenance (MRO) projects. The third-quarter 2016 tally reflects a whopping 50% increase over the figures for the same period last year.

Click on image at right for a breakdown of Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry capital and maintenance projects by market region.

An analysis by Industrial Info's Pharmaceutical Tracker - Online Database of active capital and maintenance projects reveals the 50% jump in spending--from third-quarter 2015's $3.8 billion to $5.8 billion for third-quarter 2016--represents a gain of $2 billion. In terms of actual project counts, 3Q16 registered another gain, moving up to 277 from the 218 that launched during third-quarter 2015.

Another encouraging point about the third-quarter 2016 statistics is that the projects' average total investment value (TIV) soared to $20 million, up from third-quarter 2015's $17 million. Of course, it is important to remember that these numbers can be skewed due to the launch of several large-dollar projects within the same quarter, or the lack thereof.

Currently, the largest of the third-quarter 2016 projects is located in Quebec, thanks to the University of Montreal's $250 million Outremont Science and Education Pavilion project. Scheduled to kick-off this month, on site of former CPR rail yard, the University will construct and equip two buildings (Science-430,000 square feet and Education-161,000 square feet), thus providing advanced research and academic space. The project team, all of whom hail from Montreal, includes Menkes Shooner Dagenais Letourneux Architectes, Pageu Morel Engineers, NFOE et associes architects and general contractor EBC Incorporated.

The largest industry manufacturing project set to launch during the third quarter of 2016 is Alexion Pharmaceutical's (NASDAQ:ALXN) $200 million expansion of its plant in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The plan calls for a four-phase project over the next five years to expand the existing 85,000-square-foot campus by an additional 108,000 square feet (including 5,000 square feet of commercial production space, 11,700 square feet of clinical production space, a 9,900-square-foot warehouse, 14,000 square feet of labs/office/cafeteria space, new wastewater collection & treatment facilities, stormwater mitigation facilities and new utility structures). The investment will allow for the increased production and R&D of the company's biological injectable Solaris (a treatment for atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) and other maladies). Team member include CRB Consulting Engineers (Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania) and Joe Casali Engineering (Warwick, Rhode Island).

In terms of TIV, the West Coast region leads the pack by far, with the promise of $1.5 billion in third-quarter project starts. Divided among only 30 projects, the activity includes commercial and institutional laboratories, as well as manufacturing expansions.

In terms of the number of projects, the Southeast hit the top spot by delivering 49 project starts, worth $482 million. The region's third-quarter projects carry an average TIV of $9.8 million.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five 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. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.