Pharmaceutical-Biotech Plant Pipeline Healthy as 48 North American Facilities Begin Operations in 2005

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry usually attracts headlines for its health products with news of seemingly miraculous cures making their way to market sharing space with warnings of possible deadly effects of medical blockbusters. But, in addition to seeking medical cures, the industry is also responsible for spreading a healthy dose of capital investment across North America in the form of new plant construction.

In the first nine months of 2005, Industrialinformation.com’s Pharmaceutical Tracker - Online Database has reported on 48 plants that have come online in North America. Comprised of projects large and small, this investment has been widespread, with virtually every market region seeing new plant activity.

Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the breakdown of new Pharma-Biotech Industry plants coming online in 2005.

The Great Lakes and Northeast regions shared first place in the number of new plants, with each region experiencing seven facilities opening through the end of September 2005. The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor welcomed the completion of a massive $220 million biomedical research center. Built by Gilbane Construction (Ann Arbor, Michigan), the center features a wildly high-tech array of the latest in laboratory and supporting equipment for research in fields of study including genomic and cognitive neuroscience. In Congers, New York, generics manufacturer Ivax (AMEX:IVX) (Miami, Florida) bought an existing building and invested $20 million to install equipment for production and packaging operations.

In New England, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) (New York, New York) celebrated the opening of their $35 million clinical research laboratory in New Haven, Connecticut. Other new plants coming online between January and September 2005 included the Heska Corporation’s $10 million animal products research and headquarters campus in Loveland, Colorado.

Scripps Florida moved into a new, albeit temporary, home located in Jupiter, Florida. The $12 million research facility will house Scripps’ operations until construction in complete on their massive $350 million campus in Lakeworth. Their need for immediate lab and office space is so great that another $15 million building will be built and opened next year. After Scripps moves into their permanent quarters, the two temporary buildings will be turned over to Florida Atlantic University (FAU) for their own research purposes, as the school paid for the majority of the construction cost.

Further north in Toronto, Ontario, the MaRS Discovery District completed the first phase of an ambitious research infrastructure initiative. Plans are currently underway for a second MaRS building valued at $170 million.

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