Construction spending by New Jersey’s pharmaceutical and medical technology industries is estimated at $3.5 billion over 2007-2008, with research activity also reported at $7.9 billion for 2007.
The estimates were provided by former Congressman Bob Franks, President of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, at a conference in Trenton sponsored today by the Institute and the New Jersey Alliance for Action.
Franks noted that the research spending figure for last year represented a $406 million increase over the previous year. He warned, however, that the pharmaceutical companies which have given New Jersey the nickname “Medical Chest of the World” face some difficult times based on losing patents on major products and the competition from generics.
The impacts of the spending figures reported today were analyzed by two key speakers:
- Angie McGuire, Deputy Chief of Governor Corzine’s Office of Economic Growth, said 300,000 jobs in the state are supported by the life sciences industry. She emphasized that one of the advantages the companies enjoy in New Jersey is the fact that 60 million consumers are within a four-hour drive from New Jersey.
- Aaron Fichtner, Director of Research and Evaluation for the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, reported that a recent study found that the $3.5 billion capital spending projected by the pharmaceutical/medical technology industries will result in 34,000 jobs and $740 million in local, state and federal taxes.
Philip K. Beachem, President of the Alliance for Action, said the pharmaceutical industry continues to be a dominant force in New Jersey’s economy and in generating vitally needed tax revenues for state government.
Geoff Monk, Vice President of Global Engineering Services at Schering-Plough Corporation, said that consistent construction spending by his firm has totaled $1.4 billion over the last six years. He said the major commitment now under way is for Schering Plough’s campus in Summit.
Brien Johnson, Vice President of Manufacturing at Baxter Heath Care Corporation, told the audience that Baxter’s total capital investment has been $130 million from 2001-2008. He said the major project is scheduled for a 20-acre site in Cherry Hill.
Kevin Buckbee, Chief Financial Officer of Abbott Point of Care, said Abbott intends to consolidate three different locations in New Jersey into a new site in Forrestal Village in Princeton, where his company has signed a ten year lease to retrofit the former Bloomberg News site.
Richard Campbell, Director of Operations at StructureTone, a construction management firm, reported on a new headquarters in Princeton for Novo Nordisk, a Danish company, also in Princeton on Campus Road. He said the five-floor building has a construction cost of approximately $20 million.
