The life sciences sector is primed for growth. Indeed, PwC reports that deal volume in the industry is up 20% in the last 12 months, which is formidable considering the lingering regulatory uncertainty ahead of the U.S. presidential elections. Paired with new technology and demand for new medicines and therapeutics, the project pipeline is robust.

Pharma leaders are looking for ways to fuel this progress with investments that can withstand the long-term. In turn, contractors building facilities for these companies need to make sure their projects aren’t just fool-proof, but future-proof as well.

Here are four key phrases project owners should bear in mind, that from our experience, can help you build the pharma facility of tomorrow, today.

Adaptability

This means the facility is nimble enough to support current functionality, while also being able to evolve for any future needs. A critical component for this is ensuring you’re involving your stakeholders early in the planning process. Together, contractors, designers, owners and key trade partners can sit down and collaborate on a vision for what to expect down the line. This could mean creating additional space for virtual experiments, laboratories to accommodate semi- or fully automated processes, or shifts in how companies store and distribute finished products.

You should also consider carefully which building methods to use. For example, prefabrication of certain building elements can support initial speed-to-market, but other elements will have more future flexibility via a stick-built approach. A collaborative approach early on can determine which construction methods will deliver upfront and ongoing value. Additionally, we can anticipate changes in local and federal energy codes. The key here is to go into the project aligned with the end users on how to integrate adaptable design features that meet the current market demand while equipping them for future change.

Sustainability

A recent Deloitte survey found that nearly half of pharma executives said they are actively making efforts to build smarter facilities. Especially as firms strive to align their real estate portfolios with their climate commitments, it’s clear that energy and water use reductions are no longer nice-to-haves, but rather imperatives across the pharmaceutical industry. For example, we recently completed work on United Therapeutics’ Phase Five cGMP Warehouse. The project’s geothermal systems included 40 individual bores, each dug 500 feet deep into the Earth, requiring 40,000 ft of vertical bores with 3,000 ft of lateral piping. We had to make sure the geothermal bore field and system were properly sized to address annual heating and cooling changes.

Part of the design included a rooftop photovoltaic array of 1,200 panels with 560 KW of peak output and 767 MWh of projected annual production. This array is connected to the project’s microgrid and is rechargeable when the building electrical system is disconnected from the utility. Because the building does not include a standby generator, it avoids the need for fossil fuels. Having this renewable energy source enables the facility to run seamlessly for years—even if it runs out of fuel.  

Resiliency 

The project also implemented lithium-ion battery backup systems by Tesla. We coordinated with stakeholders early in the process to account for connecting the batteries to the solar photovoltaic systems via a microgrid. In this way, when the array produces an energy surplus, the batteries recharge.

Part of the building requirement was that the system could run for 24 hours after an outage, while the cold room would need to run for an additional 24 hours on top of that. Keeping this in mind, the design-build project team determined that two batteries were needed, supplying 6.2MWh of capacity.  This was an essential component because it helped United Therapeutics avoid energy disruptions that affect storage and accessibility to medications, which in turn, helped them meet patient demand for their product. This sort of stakeholder input is crucial to have as early as possible before construction begins to ensure the facility’s resiliency over time.

Recollection

Managing an effective construction project means not having to reinvent the wheel. Customers should consider their own specific parameters and requirements and encourage the use of prior lessons learned so they can be implemented on your next projects. By recollecting what was successful in previous United Therapeutics projects, we were able to incorporate the most efficient and effective business operation for the new warehouse.

Another example is how we built the sprinkler system. The company’s insurance requirements called for a design that mitigated interference from the sprinklers that could cause loss of product. To fulfill this, we pivoted away from the use of a fully automated sprinkler system. Bringing these lessons learned to the forefront allowed the team to preemptively make the facility as efficient as possible for its operators. They avoided the potential for unnecessary loss of product and are now able to more effectively meet their mission of reliable, ongoing product delivery to their patients.

We know the pharmaceutical industry will continue to evolve to keep up with consumer demand. Construction teams need to stay closely informed on any developments in flexible facility requirements, including sustainability law changes and FDA implications. By leveraging past experience and adaptable designs, you can make sure that pharma companies’ real estate investments can endure and thrive well into the future.

 Vora is a life sciences core market leader at DPR Construction who has delivered complex engineering and construction projects at a high level of quality while maintaining budget and schedule requirements. He is a licensed professional engineer in Maryland and holds a master’s degree in architectural engineering from Pennsylvania State University.