Biotechnology

Recent high-profile natural disasters and human-based incidents are driving vivarium facility owners to reevaluate their disaster and contingency plans. Traditional approaches to risk assessment and research preservation are often over-simplified, understaffed, and insufficiently funded. A new shift in thinking focuses on preparing for the net results of losing utilities, an entire building, or access to a section of campus rather than the initial causes.

Amgen is initiating a $200 million expansion of its campus in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. The project includes construction of a 126,000-sf building extension, a new production plant, an expanded warehouse, and extensive refurbishment of the existing buildings. In addition, a significant research and development investment will also see the Dun Laoghaire facility undergo a major technology process enhancement to transform the plant into one of the leading biotechnology manufacturing sites in the world.

Biomeasure, a subsidiary of French pharmaceutical company Ipsen, is initiating a $45 million expansion and renovation of its campus in Milford, Mass. Ground will be broken in mid-2012 on a three-story, 62,000-sf facility housing R&D and process science labs. Two existing buildings at the site, a research facility and a cGMP manufacturing plant totaling 77,000 sf, will be extensively renovated.  Completion is expected in early 2014.

CMC Biologics has completed construction of a disposable biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Seattle. The project will support early-phase clinical production of mammalian cell culture-based recombinant proteins. The single-use facility represents a trend in bioprocessing to eliminate the costly sterilization procedures associated with traditional steel tank manufacturing, as well as decrease cross-contamination risks, by utilizing disposable processing equipment and bioreactors.

The Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) is initiating an expansion of the Bioprocess Scale-Up Facility in College Park, Md. Supported by $200,000 in funding from the Maryland Biotechnology Center, the project will double Mtech’s existing footprint with additional bioprocessing laboratories, fermentation facilities, and tissue culture suites. The new facility is located in the University of Maryland’s Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) and will support bioprocessing and protein purification training programs.

Wayne County will begin construction in July of 2010 on the $1.5 million Michigan Center for Regenerative Medicine in Plymouth. The 21,000-sf facility will house wet labs, offices, and manufacturing space to support stem cell research and development for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. The center will be operated by Michigan Research Institute in Ann Arbor with Innovative BioTherapies as the anchor tenant. Completion is expected in late fall of 2010.

Qiagen is expanding its North American headquarters in Germantown, Md., with the addition of 117,000 sf of office and manufacturing space. The project represents an investment of $52 million. Based in the Netherlands, Qiagen is a biotechnology company specializing in sample and assay technologies for the detection, screening, and monitoring of human and veterinary diseases.

Idexx Laboratories initiated a $50 million expansion of its corporate headquarters in Westbrook, Maine, in April of 2010. The 200,000-sf administrative building will enable Idexx to consolidate 400 workers currently located in other Westbrook facilities. Idexx is a biotechnology company that specializes in pet care.

The University of Colorado is building the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building in Boulder. Ground was broken on the interdisciplinary project in September of 2009 with completion expected in fall of 2011. The cost of the first phase of construction is $145 million. The 257,000-sf research and teaching facility will house the department of chemical and biological engineering, the biochemistry division of the department of chemistry and biochemistry, and the Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology (CIMB).

Syngenta Biotechnology initiated construction on a research and development facility in Beijing in December of 2009. The project represents an investment of $5 million over five years. The center will support research in crop genetics and biofuels.

Indiana University dedicated the $10 million IU Innovation Center in Bloomington in November of 2009. Providing laboratories and offices for bioscience and information technology companies, the two-story, 40,000-sf business incubator includes wet lab space. Construction began on the Innovation Center in November of 2008 and reached completion in August of 2009. LEED certification for sustainable design will be sought for the facility.

Kansas State University broke ground on the $28 million National Institute for Animal Health and Food Safety in Olathe in November of 2009. The 108,000-sf building will house classrooms, laboratories, and space for industry partners. Completion is expected in early 2011. The building is the first to be constructed on the new Olathe campus, which is part of the Kansas Bioscience Research Park.

SRI International dedicated the 40,000-sf Center for Advanced Drug Research in Harrisonburg, Va., in November of 2009. Located in the Rockingham County Research and Technology Park, the project houses offices and bioscience labs arranged in clusters to maximize open space. The facility was designed by HOK and built by Nielsen Builders.

Northwestern University dedicated the $100 million Richard and Barbara Silverman Hall for Molecular Therapeutics and Diagnostics in Evanston, Ill., in November of 2009. The 147,000-gsf interdisciplinary research facility houses the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute and approximately 245 researchers and staff from the physical sciences, life sciences, and engineering. Comprised of four stories above ground and one below, Silverman Hall will support collaborative biomedical research and the creation of new medicines and technologies.

DuPont Pioneer Hi-Bred is planning to construct a 22,000-sf research facility in Ithaca, N.Y. Housing laboratories, administrative offices, and conference rooms, the facility will support testing and development of corn hybrids. Pioneer Hi-Bred is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa.