$60m expansion for mystery pharma
awarded a multi-million dollar contract to expand a pharmaceutical
facility in the US, though the company is keeping the identity of
its client close to its chest.
The $60.5m expansion is taking place at a plant in New Jersey, the home of numerous pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities belonging to a variety of firms. The client is, however, a repeat customer of Skanska, with the contract announced today marking the fifth project the Swedish firm has carried out at the New Jersey site since 2005. The project itself involves construction of a three storey building of around 9,300 square metres, along with renovation of an existing 11,600 square metre building. The project is designed to improve and expand the pharma's supply operations and logistics management, according to Skanska. A number of pharma firms have employed Skanska's expertise to expand their sites and build new biotech facilities as the trend towards biopharmaceuticals requires more dedicated hi-tech capabilities. Among the list of previous pharma clients, Skanska can boast Pfizer, Roche, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi Aventis, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co. and Schering Plough - all of whom have operations in New Jersey. While Skanska was unable to disclose any details regarding the new project, a spokesperson for the company said that today's contract was indeed with one of the above firms, but is not for a biotech plant. Last December Pfizer commissioned Skanska to build a major new biotech plant in Sweden in a deal worth SEK600m ($95m). The plant is intended to enable more efficient manufacturing of Pfizer's hormone product Genotropin (somatropin), and with further investment by Pfizer of around $200m construction is due to be complete by mid-2009.
