Abbott Laboratories opened its $300 million pediatric nutrition manufacturing plant in February of 2009 in Tuas South, Singapore. Located in Tuas Biomedical Park 2, the 5,000-sm facility will accommodate 300 employees. Abbott is also planning to open a $20 million nutrition science R&D center at Biopolis, where it opened its first Asian pharmaceutical R&D facility in January of 2009.
Rutgers University is initiating a $500 million construction program that will create new facilities in Newark, New Brunswick, and Piscataway in New Jersey. Supporting more than 20 building projects, the plan includes construction of the $25 million Institute for Health Sciences in New Brunswick, the $55 million Center for Integrative Proteomics Technologies in Piscataway, and a $5.4 million research laboratory addition to the Life Sciences Center in Newark.
The National Institutes of Health was awarded a 36 percent increase in annual funding as part of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. The NIH will receive $10.4 billion in addition to its existing annual budget of $29 billion. The new funding will allocate $1 billion to the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) for renovation and new construction of extramural research facilities and $300 million for shared instrumentation. $500 million will support renovation and new construction for NIH’s intramural facilities.
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences broke ground on the $38.7 million Forensic Sciences and Biomedical Research Facility in Tulsa in February of 2009. Created in partnership with the City of Tulsa, the five-story, 160,000-sf building will house laboratories for biomedical research and forensic analysis. Occupancy is slated for fall of 2010.
The University of Colorado at Boulder is planning to construct the $40 million Aerospace and Energy Systems Building. The facility will house research clusters for earth sciences, sensing, space science and technology, and unmanned aircraft system design and fabrication. The Aerospace and Energy Systems Building will support collaboration with government and industry partners including Ball Aerospace Systems and Lockheed Martin.
PortaFab, a manufacturer of pre-engineered modular building systems, introduced the PharmaSystem cleanroom wall and ceiling solution in February of 2009. Providing an aseptic wall and ceiling system for new or renovated facilities, PharmaSystem utilizes a metal stud framework with walls hanging off one of both sides, creating a utility chase with a more economical panel. To create a smooth panel transition across the surface of a wall, panels have formed or cut edges to connect directly to one another and utilize a caulk joint, gel coat, or chemical weld.
Medical technology company Valeritas is engaged in an expansion of its laboratory facility in Shrewsbury, N.J. The expansion will add 2,000 sf of cleanroom and R&D space to Valeritas’ 21,000-sf facility. The construction manager for the project is Integrated Builders of Braintree, Mass. Valeritas, a manufacturer of drug delivery devices for diabetes treatment, is based is Parsippany, N.J.
Millipore opened the 8,000-sf Biomanufacturing Sciences and Training Center (BSTC) in Singapore in February of 2009. Located in Science Park in Buona Vista, the facility will provide training and support for Millipore’s biopharmaceutical customers in Asia. Millipore is a global life sciences company based in Billerica, Mass.
Texas Tech University Health Center is planning to construct the 150,000-sf Paul L. Foster School of Medicine in El Paso, Texas. The $65 million facility will support research in cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, obesity, and diabetes.
Gallaudet University celebrated the opening of the Molecular Genetics Laboratory in Washington, D.C., in February of 2009. The building will provide research space for the departments of biology and chemistry and is specifically designed for deaf researchers. The open-plan lab houses environmental chambers, ultralow freezers, fume and sterile hoods, DNA gel equipment, and PCR thermocyclers for research in genetics, environmental science, and cancer. Construction began on the project in January of 2008 and reached completion in August of 2008.
Swansea University is planning to construct the £21.6 million Centre for NanoHealth on its Singleton campus in Swansea in the United Kingdom. Supported by £10 million in funding from the Convergence European Regional Development Fund, the integrated facility will enable researchers, clinicians, engineers, and industry partners to develop nanoscale technologies for the creation of advanced biomedical therapies. The Centre for NanoHealth will house interdisciplinary research on regenerative medicine such as tissue engineering utilizing adult stem cells.
Union College is planning to construct the $18 million Peter Irving Wold Science and Engineering Center in Schenectady, N.Y. The three-story, 35,000-sf facility will house labs and classrooms for biochemistry, environmental science, engineering, and energy research. The building will also house incubator research programs in acoustics and aerogel, a rooftop energy research laboratory, and a high performance computing laboratory. Construction is expected to begin in summer of 2009 and reach completion in fall of 2011.
Johannes Gutenberg University is planning to construct the €30 million Excellence Center for Life Sciences in Mainz, Germany. The 6,000-sm project will receive €100 million for operational support over ten years from Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation. The biomedical research facility will be constructed in two phases, with the first phase opening in January of 2011.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas initiated the interior build-out of the Shadow Lane Biomedical Facility in January of 2009. Designed by SmithGroup of Phoenix with McCarthy as general contractor, the build-out includes modifying 31,200-sf of existing shell space into medical classrooms, laboratories, hospital simulation spaces, offices, and study rooms. McCarthy is also installing new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems as well as relocating an existing chiller and other mechanical equipment.
The University of Oxford opened the £5 million Jenner Institute Laboratories in February of 2009 in the United Kingdom. The facility features laboratories for vaccine research and development for diseases including malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, and bird flu. The Jenner Institute is a partnership between Oxford University and the Institute for Animal Health (IAH). The facility integrates basic science research in immunology and genetics with clinical vaccine development and commercialization.
