Merck's decision to pump $300 million into an expansion of its Durham, NC vaccine facility [1] is seen by analysts as part of a coordinated effort to solidify a leading role in a booming global vaccines market. The work in North Carolina should be completed by 2010, a year before Merck opens a new, $300 million vaccine plant in Ireland.

BCC Research recently estimated that the vaccine business will advance at a blistering pace of 11 percent a year, hitting $34 billion in 2013. And Merck isn't alone in aggressively ramping up new facilities to satisfy the growing demand for vaccines. Sanofi-Aventis recently announced that it would invest more than $6 billion in its vaccine business [1] and Microbix is spending almost $200 million on a new plant in China [2].

- read the article [3] from In-PharmaTechnologist

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