Research and Development

Purdue University released the "Protect Purdue" strategic reopening plan in June of 2020. Incorporating the latest scientific guidance, the university has developed an array of tools and operational protocols to safely resume campus activities while limiting the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The plan aims to create a culture of safety and accountability through a universal pledge by students, faculty, and staff to assume personal responsibility for protecting themselves, others, and the Purdue community.

While many campuses remain closed to undergraduate students, at least through the summer, researchers are beginning a phased return to their labs, with new safety protocols that include face masks and social distancing; guidelines for space usage and maintenance; and staggered work schedules. Institutions are requiring that researchers continue to do as much work as possible remotely, including writing, analyzing data, and conferring with colleagues. In order for research to fully resume, however, faculty need access to their labs, but they first must be trained in the new protocols and agree to adhere to them; failure to do so will results in the loss of lab access.

Sanofi Pasteur is planning to create the Evolutive Vaccine Facility (EVF) in Neuville sur Saône, France. Representing an investment of €490 million over a five-year period, the structure will house a central unit containing several fully digital production modules, enabling the manufacture of four vaccines simultaneously. This modularity will make it possible to prioritize the delivery of a specific vaccine to address crucial public health issues. The company will also invest €120 million to construct a new R&D center in Marcy-l'Etoile.

The International WELL Building Institute launched the WELL Health-Safety Rating for all building and facility types in June of 2020. The evidence-based, third-party-verified rating system focuses on operational policies, maintenance protocols, and design strategies for the post-COVID-19 environment.

AZIsotopes is building a $45 million headquarters and production facility in Bunker Hill, Ind. The project includes the renovation of a 55,000-sf shell building and the construction of a 28,000-sf addtion, which will house a cyclotron vault with walls ten feet thick to isolate the instrument's two 70-ton magnets. Strategically located near Grissom Air Force Base to meet security requirements, the facility will support the creation of medical isotopes for diagnostic testing and clinical treatment. Operations at the site are expected to begin by early 2021.

Leeds Beckett University completed construction in June of 2020 on the £45 million Carnegie School of Sport in Leeds in the United Kingdom. Designed by Sheppard Robson, the 90,000-sf facility will accommodate sports science research programs as well as offering performance analysis and training services for elite athletes. The structure provides the school's Centre for Human Performance with dedicated research labs including two environmental chambers capable of producing a variety of temperature, humidity, and altitude conditions.

The University of Texas at San Antonio is planning to construct a $90 million facility that will house the School of Data Science and the National Security Collaboration Center. The School of Data Science will occupy 84,500 sf of classroom, lab, and office space in the structure, which will collocate the departments of computer science, computer engineering, statistics and data sciences, and information systems and cybersecurity.

Access to quick, reliable, and repeated testing has been one of the greatest challenges for businesses, institutions, and individuals during the SARS-CoV-2 crisis. HOK has partnered with Germfree Laboratories to design a mobile testing lab that will help large organizations to meet this urgent need. These self-contained biocontainment facilities can provide advanced, onsite capabilities for any setting.

The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute will begin construction in July of 2020 on the SAHMRI 2 building in Adelaide. Designed by Woods Bagot, the AUD$500 million project will accelerate the delivery of leading-edge clinical care as well as accommodating growing research programs in health analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Standing 12 stories above grade with three underground levels, the facility will house the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy & Research and the SAiGEN Cancer Institute.

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is constructing the $105 million Nursing and Instructional Building. Designed by LS3P, the 180,000-sf structure will provide a consolidated home for the School of Nursing and allow for programmatic growth to support additional enrollment. The four-story structure will feature multiple simulation training environments including hospital rooms, patient exam rooms, labor and delivery suites, and home health settings such as mock apartments.

Intertek, a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, is enabling companies to re-open for business with the highest health and safety standards in place through its innovative Protek program. Protek harnesses science-based processes and protocols to mitigate environmental health risks in facilities, from existing buildings to new construction projects.

Amid sobering reports of job losses in commercial real estate, coupled with months-long construction shutdowns in major markets like Boston and New York, the life sciences sector is poised to experience a less dramatic disruption, and possibly emerge from the pandemic even stronger than it was before. “COVID is a healthcare crisis, so it needs a healthcare solution, and that life sciences and biophparma solution has to be constructed,” says Kevin Chronley, vice president of A/Z Corp. and immediate past president of the Boston Area Chapter of International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). Chronley predicts that construction will run the gamut from medical device manufacturing and biopharma laboratories to education and training facilities.

Ryvu Therapeutics completed construction in June of 2020 on the R&D Center for Innovative Drugs in Krakow, Poland. Accommodating approximately 300 employees, the $20 million headquarters and research facility will enable the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company to accelerate the development of novel small molecule therapies that address emerging targets in oncology.

Genomic Partnership Wales is planning to construct a research facility in Cardiff in the United Kingdom to accelerate the development of pharmaceutical therapies. Created by a consortium of government, academic, and medical partners, the project involves the redevelopment of an existing two-story building to provide leading-edge genetics labs, seminar rooms, treatment suites, offices, freezer rooms, and support. The facility will include CL2 biocontainment research suites to ensure compliance with the UK's HBN 15 regulations for pathology services.

Catalent is rapidly scaling up its manufacturing capacity in Bloomington to enable production of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate that is currently being by developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The collaboration involves joint investment from Catalent and Janssen to enable large-scale commercial manufacturing by January of 2021, with segregated cGMP production lines operating 24/7 to create approximately a billion doses.