Biomedical

Federal financial measures have been approved in the past few weeks to shore up the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, with direct monetary assistance and business loans totaling $5.5 trillion, and more support and flexibility for research universities and government contractors. The federal stimulus package—the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act—is intended to pump $2.2 trillion dollars into the economy, primarily in the healthcare and research sectors, and to provide emergency relief to institutions, businesses, and workers whose livelihoods have been impacted by the pandemic. The specifics of how it will be implemented are still evolving, and it is likely that additional stimulus bills will be considered in the coming months, including investments in infrastructure for the nation’s research enterprise.

VACUUBRAND is offering continuing education courses approved by the American Institute of Architects and Green Business Certification Inc. Providing engineers and designers with the skills to create sustainable, high-performance laboratories, each course is available as a general webinar, a private webinar, or as an on-demand learning experience. AIA members will receive one LU/HSW (Health-Safety-Welfare learning unit) for each one-hour course.

A $2.2 trillion stimulus package will support the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in their response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) will be available to the agencies through September of 2024. The CDC will receive $4.3 billion in new funding, which includes $1.5 billion for joint initiatives with state and local governments. The NIH has been allocated $945.4 million, which will be directed to:

The University of Technology Sydney is constructing the Science Research Building in New South Wales, Australia. Designed by H2o Architects, the integrated seven-story facility will provide flexible research labs for the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. Enabling collaborative discovery and development with industry partners, the interdisciplinary structure will feature specialized spaces for advanced analytics, chemical synthesis, phenomics, and translational medicine.

Georgia State University is planning to construct an $84 million research building in Atlanta for the study of global infectious diseases. Designed by HOK, the 84,100-sf biocontainment facility will provide BSL-3 and BSL-4 labs, a vivarium, collaborative open research areas, offices, and support space. A design-bid-build contractor is being sought for the project, which has an estimated construction cost of $66 million. The structure represents the third phase of development at the university's Science Park and is slated for completion in 2022.

Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the fourth quarter of 2019. Key points include:

Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies began construction in March of 2020 on a $14.5 million campus in Billingham in the United Kingdom. Designed by Ryder Architecture, the project will support the creation of innovative biologic, vaccine, and gene therapy products. Accommodating approximately 300 employees, the campus will feature a 42,000-sf office building with an inviting welcome center. Completion is expected in March of 2021. Additional R&D laboratories and manufacturing facilities will be delivered in a subsequent phase of development. 

Oregon Health & Science University is constructing the $50 million Elks Children's Eye Clinic Building in Portland. Designed by NBBJ, the freestanding 64,000-sf building will be physically connected to the existing Casey Eye Institute by a striking glass sky bridge. The five-story structure will accommodate translational research labs, an 11,500-sf pediatric eye clinic, and space for clinical trials.

Amicus Therapeutics opened the $25 million Global Research and Gene Therapy Center of Excellence in March of 2020 in Philadelphia. Accommodating up to 200 employees, the 75,000-sf project provides collaborative labs and offices to support the discovery and development of new therapies for rare metabolic diseases.

Washington University in St. Louis broke ground on a $616 million neuroscience research center in March of 2020. Designed by Perkins+Will and CannonDesign, the 609,000-sf building will accommodate over 100 research teams in collaborative neighborhoods to promote interaction. Strategically sited between the university's medical campus and the Cortex Innovation Community, the 11-story facility will house approximately 900 investigators from the departments of neurology, neuroscience, neurosurgery, psychiatry, and anesthesiology.

East Carolina University is constructing the $90 million Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building in Greenville, N.C. Designed by Lord Aeck Sargent, the 141,500-sf facility will provide wet bench and computational labs for programs in biotechnology, biophysics, biofuels, environmental engineering, imaging, and sensor development. Enabling students to engage in collaborative research with academic and industry partners, the four-story structure will include classrooms, lecture halls, administrative offices, core labs, and support spaces.

Audentes Therapeutics is planning to construct a $109 million gene therapy manufacturing facility in Sanford, N.C. The 135,000-sf project will support the production of genetic medicines based on adeno-associated virus vectors for the treatment of rare neuromuscular diseases. The center is expected to be operational by 2021. Audentes Therapeutics is a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma.

The Texas A&M University System is creating a $546 million complex at the Texas Medical Center in Houston. A renovated 18-story structure will accommodate the groundbreaking Engineering Medicine (EnMed) program when it opens in summer of 2020. Two new towers will be developed through a public-private partnership (P3). Slated for completion in June of 2022, a 365,000-sf residential facility will offer 572 units providing 704 beds for medical and nursing students, and a 1.2 million-sf parking garage will accommodate 3,444 cars.

The University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center are building the Immune Transplant and Therapy Center in Bloomfield. Developed in partnership with Wexford Science & Technology, the $250 million project involves the transformation of a former Ford assembly plant and showroom into an eight-story innovation hub accommodating research on immunotherapy, cancer, chronic diseases, aging, and transplantation.

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and RWJBarnabas Health are planning to break ground in fall of 2020 on the $750 million Cancer Pavilion in New Brunswick. Created in partnership with the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO), the 12-story, 510,000-sf structure will enable the consolidation of key cancer services in a single integrated location.