New Jersey faces an unprecedented opportunity over the next few months as America’s pharmaceutical industry looks to double down on American investment by relocating overseas R&D and manufacturing facilities to various locations around the United States and expanding some of our American-based facilities.
These investments in America will mean tens (if not hundreds) of billions of dollars in construction projects, increased jobs and greater economic activity for whatever states are lucky enough – or smart enough – to attract these companies, their new facilities, and the jobs they will generate.
Some of these investments and expansions have already been announced – in North Carolina, Delaware, Texas, Indiana, Virginia . . . the list of other states gaining these investments goes on. Except for a few expansions of existing facilities, New Jersey has barely been on the list, particularly for new facility construction.
But it’s not too late – there will be more announcements in the coming weeks and months. New Jersey needs to act – and act urgently – to secure our state’s share of this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity construction activity boon. It comes down to some very strong advantages versus one glaring disadvantage.
The disadvantage? New Jersey’s business climate – ranked worst in the nation. With the highest corporate tax rate in the country and one of the most challenging permitting gauntlets and most burdensome regulatory environments, companies have lots of states working overtime to recruit them – states with business climates much friendlier than New Jersey’s.
The advantages? New Jersey’s entire innovation ecosystem is tailored to pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing, and our highly skilled building trades labor force is trained to construct these intricate, cutting-edge R&D and manufacturing facilities.The longstanding and essential partnership between New Jersey’s life sciences sector and the union construction industry continues to reinforce our reputation as the “Medicine Chest of the World.” With 2,400 life sciences companies supporting 356,000 jobs and generating $120 billion in annual economic activity, the industry contributes between 15% and 20% of New Jersey’s GDP each year.
At the heart of this success are the state’s respected and highly skilled union tradespeople. Their expertise, rigorous apprenticeship training, specialized skillsets, and custom-built tools enable them to deliver some of the most demanding and complex construction projects – such as barrier isolation systems, radiopharmaceutical cleanrooms, and advanced modular facilities powered by AI-driven automation. These same building trade craftspeople also install restricted access barrier systems (RABS) and build advanced or continuous manufacturing facilities.
A recent study by the Pharmaceutical Industry – Labor Management Association (PILMA) found that from 2019 to 2024, New Jersey’s life sciences companies undertook more than 70 construction or renovation projects valued at over $5 million each. These projects totaled over $4 billion in construction spending and generated 5.7 million organized labor hours.
As these companies seek states in which to invest and expand, both sides of this equation – industry and labor – are essential to getting new facilities up and running. And New Jersey has both.
The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ), representing the state’s leading biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies, has worked closely with the New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council, representing the majority of these skilled trade unions, to inform policymakers about the critical intersection of organized labor, life sciences, New Jersey jobs, and the development of new, life-saving treatments and cures.
Our collective and urgent goal is to help New Jersey rebalance that one glaring disadvantage – our state’s challenging business climate – so our innovation ecosystem and our highly skilled union labor workforce provide our great state the distinct edge in attracting these billions of dollars in construction projects and the ensuing jobs and economic activity that will follow. It’s not too late – but time is running short very quickly.
Chrissy Buteas, President and Chief Executive Officer, HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ)
and William Mullen, President, New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council
