The new $81m (€59m) building, work on which is scheduled to start later this month, will be a replacement for GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) current Philadelphia base in the city centre.
The building is intended to provide an open-plan environment to boost cross departmental interaction. It is also designed achieve LEED Platinum certification, which is an internationally recognized standard for building sustainability.
A GSK spokeswoman told in-PharmaTechnologist that the facility will house the firm’s pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare businesses and support functions and will employ around 1,300 people.
She explained that: “GSK is slowly transitioning all its facilities to an open plan. In the facilities where GSK has adopted open plan space, employee collaboration, access to decision makers, communication, and group effectiveness have improved significantly.
The UK-based drugmaker also told Dow Jones newswires the 205,000sqft open plan facility could save it as much as $26m a year when fully operational in late 2012 or early 2013.