Biomedical

Penn Medicine and Novartis have joined forces to create the new Center for Advanced Cellular Therapies (CACT), located atop the Henry Jordan Medical Education Center at the Perelman School of Medicine. Dedicated to finding more effective treatments for cancer using personalized medicine, this first-of-its-kind facility forms the epicenter for research using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology, which enables a patient’s T cells to be removed, reprogrammed, and re-infused into the patient, where they can “hunt” and destroy cancer cells.

After a one-year delay, Congress has passed the 21st Century Cures Act, which includes new funding totaling $4.8 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), $500 million for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to bring novel drug therapies and medical devices to market more quickly, and $1 billion to fight the growing opioid crisis. The NIH funding includes $1.8 billion for Vice President Joseph Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot,” $1.6 billion for President Obama’s BRAIN initiative, and additional money earmarked for precision medicine. The Cures Act funding is separate from, and in addition to, annual NIH budget increases. It comes on the heals of a $2 billion increase in NIH funding last year, the largest increase in a decade. If the trend continues, it could result in a need for additional research infrastructure in the form of renovations and new construction.

Imperial College London began construction in early 2017 on the £70 million Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Research Hub in London. Designed by Allies & Morrison, the collaborative 14-story building will provide flexible laboratories, an outpatient clinic, an auditorium, and interaction spaces. Located on the White City campus, the 215,000-sf translational research facility will be built to attain BREEAM sustainable design certification and will feature a highly efficient service model with interconnected utility plants on each floor.

Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA Biomed) will begin construction in early 2017 on a four-story, 85,000-sf R&D facility on the campus of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif. Consolidating operations currently dispersed in seven campus locations, the collaborative project will feature core labs with advanced technological instrumentation. A modular design will provide flexible wet and dry research spaces as well as conference and dining facilities.

The University of Melbourne is engaged in a 54,000-sf expansion of the Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute. Created in partnership with Australian biopharmaceutical firm CSL, the AUD$36.4 million project will house the CSL Global Hub for Research and Translational Medicine, which will feature advanced technologies for the creation of personalized medicine solutions. Completion is expected in mid-2017.

Texas Tech University is planning to build the $62 million Medical Science Building II in El Paso. Designed by Perkins+Will, the 227,000-sf facility will provide advanced research laboratories, classrooms, lecture halls, faculty and investigator offices, and support space. The general contractor for the project, which will include utility infrastructure and parking improvements, is Sundt Construction.

GlaxoSmithKline began construction in December of 2016 on a 100,000-sf SMART laboratory and office facility in Upper Providence, Pa. Skanska has been awarded the $45 million contract for demolition and renovation of four floors in an existing structure to implement GSK’s Smart Space concept, which features integrated technological innovations for research and productivity. Completion is expected in October of 2017.

Merck has selected Alexandria Real Estate Equities to develop a biopharmaceutical R&D facility in South San Francisco, Calif. Construction will begin in early 2017 on the nine-story, 294,000-rsf building, the entirety of which will be leased by Merck. Designed by DGA to accommodate up to 300 scientists engaged in collaborative, multidisciplinary research, the facility will provide laboratories, offices, a 300-seat auditorium, a café, and a fitness center.

Great Ormond Street Hospital will begin construction in January of 2017 on the £42 million Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children in London. Designed by Stanton Williams, the 140,000-sf translational research facility will provide collaborative biomedical labs and instrumentation suites to support the delivery of personalized gene and cell therapies and innovative medical devices.

Pfizer will begin construction in mid-2017 on a $200 million research and development campus in Chesterfield, Mo. Supporting the creation of advanced vaccines, biotherapeutics, and pharmaceuticals, the project could include a 460,000-sf facility standing up to five stories high. The campus will be built by Clayco and its development subsidiary CRG, with Pfizer leasing the structures upon completion. Occupancy is expected in 2020.

UC San Diego Health opened the $943 million Jacobs Medical Center in November of 2016 in La Jolla. Designed by Cannon Design, the 10-story, 509,500-sf facility includes the Rady Pavilion for Women & Infants, the Foster Pavilion for Cancer Care, and the Vassiliadis Family Pavilion for Advanced Surgery.

Texas A&M University is planning to begin construction in January of 2017 on the $86 million Global Health Research Complex in College Station. The 102,000-sf biocontainment facility will provide advanced laboratories for the study of infectious agents and diseases in plants, animals, and humans. Supporting collaboration within the A&M System, the project will collocate biomedical, veterinary, engineering, and environmental science research in a single complex to create innovative strategies for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Doctors Hospital at Renaissance is partnering with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to create a $34 million medical research facility in McAllen. The 83,000-sf building will be developed as a public-private partnership and will be leased back to the University at an annual cost of $2.5 million. The project will provide 16 research labs, core facilities, and clinical space for the study of diseases affecting the Rio Grande Valley.

Texas Tech University is initiating an $86 million expansion of its Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. Designed by Hill International, the 183,000-sf project includes the 56,000-sf Education, Research & Technology Building and the 17,000-sf West Expansion Building. A third facility adjoining an existing library will create an additional 110,000 sf of teaching and research space, and will feature a 240-seat flipped classroom and a sophisticated gross anatomy lab.

UMass Medical School opened the $20 million Massachusetts Facility for High-Resolution Cryo-Electron Microscopy in October of 2016 in Worcester. Featuring a 2,000-sf microscopy suite housing two cryo-EM systems, the $5 million Titan Krios and the $4 million Talos-Arctica, the 4,100-sf laboratory will provide academic investigators and industry partners with advanced imaging capabilities for biomedical and pharmaceutical research.