North American pharmaceutical-biotech industry expects 30% jump in 2007 for new facility construction

Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Published : 13 Dec 2006 20:15

SUGAR LAND--December 12, 2006--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). The Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry currently expects 80 new facilities to complete construction over the next twelve months. The new sites represent a whopping $3.7 billion total investment value (TIV).

A recent analysis of 2007 new build activity, which was drawn from data contained within Industrial Info Resource’s Pharmaceutical Tracker - Online Database, revealed that the projects include the construction of manufacturing plants, research laboratories and drug distribution centers. Activity for 2007 represents a 30% increase over 2006 and the 62 plants scheduled to be completed this year.

The popularity of the industry and the high-paying jobs it provides has remained strong, and as discussed in the newly released 2007 Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry Forecast, the site selection process has become much more competitive. Cities and towns from across both the U.S. and Canada seek to land these projects. Looking beyond the initial investment, officials hope the new construction attracts other investments from the life science sector.

The Mid-Atlantic region currently lays claim to the largest number of new sites, with eleven plants expected to be finished next year. The region has long been a popular choice for all sectors of the industry, as it counts Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia among its states. Among those companies expecting to complete construction next year is Stiefel Laboratories’ (Coral Gables, Florida) $50 million research institute being built in Durham, North Carolina. Eventual job creation in the entire region from the all of the new build activity could top 3,100.

In a three-way tie for second place, the Great Lakes, Midwest and West Coast regions are forecast to finish construction on ten new sites each. One of the more notable projects out of the Great Lakes is the $150 million Skokie Technology Innovation Complex, which is being developed by Forest City Enterprises on the 46-acre former Pfizer site in Skokie, Illinois. The West Coast region expects completion in April 2007 of a $70 million manufacturing plant for Berlex (Montvale, New Jersey) in Lynnwood, Washington. The company will use the facility to produce Leukine, a cancer treatment. In the Midwest, animal nutritionals company MVP Laboratories (Omaha, Nebraska) is investing $2.5 million to relocate manufacturing and R&D to a two-building site in Omaha, Nebraska.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) at www.industrialinfo.com is a Marketing Information Service company that has been doing business for over 23 years. IIR is respected as the leader in providing comprehensive market intelligence pertaining to the industrial processing, heavy manufacturing, and energy-related industries throughout the world.

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