Analysts predict that the pharmaceutical industry is poised to play a more expansive and transformative role in health care in the next decade as breakthroughs enable companies to treat, and even cure, diseases that lack effective options today.
Moving from “medicine makers to lifespan parters” has the life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors building at a booming pace with major drugmakers pledging more than $370 billion in investments in U.S. projects over the next five years.
New biologics manufacturing facilities, cell and gene therapy suites, compounding pharmacies, and biotech R&D campuses are coming online across the country, and every one of them faces the same fundamental construction challenge: the walls, ceilings, and partitions inside these buildings are not just structural.
They are part of the contamination control system. That reality is forcing a serious rethink of traditional construction materials, and painted drywall is increasingly being displaced in critical cleanroom zones by other GMP-focused systems, with insulated metal panels (IMPs) leading the way.
Gypsum board has long been the default choice for interior partitions across commercial construction. It is inexpensive, familiar, and easy to work with. But in a pharmaceutical or life sciences facility, those advantages are quickly outweighed by a set of problems that drywall simply cannot overcome.
Consider what a controlled environment demands from its surfaces and structure:
ISO 14644-1, the international benchmark for cleanroom classification, sets strict limits on airborne particle concentrations across nine ISO classes. Pharmaceutical manufacturing typically operates across ISO Classes 5 through 8, with the most critical operations carried out under ISO Class 5 conditions for aseptic filling and open product handling.
The FDA's Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations reinforce these requirements operationally, demanding facilities that can be thoroughly cleaned, monitored, and validated over time.
What this translates to architecturally is a short list of non-negotiables: surfaces must be smooth, impervious and easily cleanable, joints must be continuously sealable, and the entire envelope must withstand repeated aggressive chemical washdowns without degrading.
Conventional drywall assemblies struggle to satisfy these criteria reliably in high-grade cleanrooms, while IMPs are purpose-designed to do so.
IMPs are factory-fabricated composite panels consisting of a rigid insulating foam core bonded between steel face sheets. Unlike drywall assemblies built in the field, IMPs arrive to the jobsite as a finished product that is smooth, sealed, and ready to perform.
Their non-porous steel surfaces resist microbial growth, do not absorb moisture, and withstand the concentrated disinfectants and oxidizing agents that pharmaceutical facilities rely on for decontamination.
A one-panel system also reduces the number of trades required on-site and significantly compresses installation timelines compared to traditional multi-component wall assemblies.
The structural integrity of IMPs translates to dramatically lower long-term maintenance overhead as well. There is no need for frequent repainting or constant re-caulking, and the metal-skinned core does not soften when exposed to moisture. A properly installed IMP wall system in a pharmaceutical facility can deliver reliable performance for 15 to 20 years with minimal maintenance.
Not all insulated metal panels are appropriate for pharmaceutical or life sciences applications. Standard IMP profiles used in cold storage or industrial construction typically feature embossed or textured face sheets that, while effective for thermal performance, introduce exactly the kind of surface geometry that cleanroom design must eliminate.
Green Span Profiles' CleanLine panel was designed specifically to solve this problem. The CleanLine exterior face is completely smooth and free of all embossing and profiling, which eliminates the dust-trapping surfaces and irregular transitions that make standard construction materials problematic in controlled environments. That flush surface can be wiped down, sprayed, or subjected to fogged disinfectant with minimal concern about residue accumulating in profile grooves or panel textures.
The CleanLine system offers additional features that make it well-suited for pharma and life sciences applications:
CleanLine panels are manufactured for interior use as partition walls, liner walls, and ceilings, covering the full scope of the cleanroom envelope in a single, consistent system.
Beyond the cleanability and compliance advantages, IMPs offer pharmaceutical and life sciences facility planners something that traditional stick-built construction cannot match: the ability to build fast and reconfigure later.
Pharmaceutical pipelines change. A biologics manufacturer today may need to add a second manufacturing suite next year or repurpose a formulation space for a different product.
Modular IMP construction supports that kind of reconfiguration in ways that drywall does not. Panel systems can be disassembled, relocated, and reinstalled with minimal waste and without the extended downtime that gut-and-rebuild construction creates.
For a sector where speed to market has direct financial consequences, that flexibility has genuine value.
The life sciences construction boom is not slowing. Cell and gene therapy facilities, mRNA manufacturing campuses, sterile compounding operations, and biotech research spaces are all being built or expanded right now.
Each of them requires a construction approach that treats contamination control as a first-order design priority, not an afterthought addressed with paint and caulk.
Green Span Profiles' CleanLine insulated metal panels offer pharmaceutical and life sciences facility owners a building envelope solution designed from the ground up to meet those demands: smooth, non-porous surfaces that support aggressive washdowns; continuous, sealable joints that maintain envelope integrity; and the long-term durability that cGMP facilities require.
When the wall is part of the quality system, it must perform accordingly.
Contact Green Span Profiles today to speak with a specialist about CleanLine panel solutions for your pharmaceutical or life sciences facility.