Industry News

Syngenta, a biotechnology firm based in Basel, Switz., plans to begin construction at its RTP campus on a new 24,682-sf facility to house offices and a conference center. Architect for the building is Cline Design Associates; the general contractor is Shelco Inc.   Syngenta works in the field of agricultural applications of biotechnology.

Austin-based Ambion Inc.'s Diagnostic RNA unit has built a new manufacturing lab and is seeking approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin manufacturing products. Shifting its focus to the molecular pathology market, Ambion began the development in October 2000. The facility also houses space for devising disease test kit formulas.

Smith & Nephew Inc. is expanding in Massachusetts. The company plans to open a new 80,000-sf Andover headquarters for its Endoscopy Division in 2002. The existing headquarters building will be converted to a 110,000-sf manufacturing facility, and a 60,000-sf Mansfield, Mass., manufacturing plant will be expanded by 40,000 sf. The Endoscopy Division makes arthroscopic products.

Rohm and Haas, based in Philadelphia, plans to consolidate its chemical operations in Lower Gwynedd, where the company currently has a 600,000-sf lab. After closing its facility in Bristol Township, Rohm and Haas will invest $20- to $25 million to relocate 175 Bristol employees to Lower Gwynedd and construct a second building at that 140-acre site.

Three universities in the Triangle have plans for new genomics facilities, faculty, and equipment. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has targeted $245 million for genomics development. North Carolina State University is investing $300 million in genome science initiatives and plans to build three new buildings. Duke University has budgeted $200 million for construction of four new facilities, one of which is the Center for Human Disease Models, a facility housing more than 36,000 cages.