Over the next 12 months, the North American pharmaceutical-biotech industry will see a 30 percent increase in new construction activity over 2006, with 80 new facilities planned at a total investment value (TIV) of $3.7 billion, according to Industrial Info Resources' Pharmaceutical Tracker - Online Database released Tuesday.
The projects include manufacturing plants, research labs and drug distribution centers. In 2006, only 62 plants are scheduled to be completed.
The industry's popularity and its high-paying jobs is continuing its strong showing, cities and towns in the U.S. and Canada are competing heavily for pharmaceutical construction sites, as reported in Industrial Info's newly released 2007 Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry Forecast. These regions anticipate that investment by the pharmaceutical-biotech companies will spur further investments by other companies in the life science sector.
Currently, the Mid-Atlantic region can expect the biggest amount of new sites, with 11 plants planned to completed in 2007. Industrial Info's research shows that among the companies expected to complete construction in 2007 is Stiefel Laboratories’ $50 million research institute in Durham, N.C. Job creation in the entire region resulting from the the new construction activity could come in at about 3,100.
Three regions are tied for second place – the Great Lakes, Midwest and West Coast – each with 10 ten sites planned to complete construction in 2007.
The Great Lakes region will be the beneficiary of the $150 million Skokie Technology Innovation Complex, being developed by Forest City Enterprises on the 46-acre former Pfizer site in Skokie, Ill.
On the West Coast, April 2007 is the completion date for Berlex's $70 million manufacturing plant in Lynnwood, Wash. The facility will produce Leukine, a cancer treatment.
In the Midwest, animal nutritionals company MVP Laboratories will invest $2.5 million to relocate manufacturing and R&D to a two-building site in Omaha, Neb., according to Industrial Info's research.