In the second half of IBO‘s biannual coverage of major new labs, we take a look at biotechnology, pharmaceutical and academic laboratory buildings planned for or under construction.

 

Biotechnology 

German Company Opens Lab for Microbiome Research

Organization: Jennewein Biotechnologie

Location: Mildred-Scheel-Straße, Bonn Bad Godesberg, Germany

Lab Size: 10,763 ft² (1,000 m²)

Lab Cost: approx.. €3.6 million ($4.2 million)

Estimated Opening Date: October 2018

Industrial biotechnology company Jennewein Biotechnologie specializes in the production of rare functional sugar molecules for a variety of applications, such as pharmaceutical and nutritional products. In June, the German company announced that it will be relocating its R&D lab from Rheinbreitbach to Bonn Bad Godesberg due to the company’s growth, which has required more space for R&D. The new lab will house microbiome research and designer microorganisms. In the new lab, Jennewein Biotechnologie will also focus on developing new technologies in order to create organisms with synthetic genomes.

 

Biotech Leader To Construct New Biomanufacturing Plant

Organization: Amgen

Location: West Greenwich, RI

Lab Size: 120,000 ft² (11,148 m²)

Lab Cost: approximately $200 million

In July, Amgen broke ground on a new next-generation biomanufacturing plant that will be the first of its kind in the US. The plant will create nearly 150 new jobs, and will incorporate many technologies into the one facility. This way, the building will be constructed in half the time at about 50% of the traditional operating costs, and will have many environmental benefits, including reduced water and energy consumption. Moreover, the equipment within the plant will be smaller and more portable than in traditional plants, with some disposable components. According to the company, this is for reducing expensive retrofitting necessities that crop up in traditional plants. The multi-technology facility will allow Amgen to continue focusing on biologics production, but at a much greater speed and efficiency.

 

Pharmaceutical

Leading Chinese Pharma Company to Establish “One-Site Solution”

Organization: STA Pharmaceutial (WuXi STA)

Location: Jinshan District, Shanghai, China

Lab Size: 322,917 ft² (30,000 m²)

Estimated Opening Date: 2020

STA Pharmaceutial (WuXi STA), a subsidiary of Wuxi AppTec, announced in April its plans to build a new R&D facility next to the company’s API intermediates manufacturing site. The R&D lab will offer a “one-site solution” for companies that want to advance their projects from the preclinical stage to commercialization. The site will also offer access to various technology platforms, including systems for biocatalysis, flow chemistry and high-potency testing, from a lab to commercial scale.  WuXi STA plans to employ 500 scientists to the location over the next 2–5 years.

 

PRA Health Sciences Adding to Kansas Footprint

Organization: PRA Health Sciences

Location: Lenexa, KS

Lab Size: 48,000 ft² (4,459 m²)

Estimated Opening Date: NA

Another company expanding its local footprint is PRA Health Sciences, which already employs approximately 680 people in Kansas. The company plans to expand its research offerings with its upcoming bioanalytical lab and add another 80 jobs over the next 5 years. The new lab will be used to explore biomarkers for detecting small and large molecules in medications. Additionally, the company will provide QC, pharmaceutical manufacturing and safety testing services at the facility.

 

New Alzheimer’s Research Lab Opening in Cambridge

Organization: Eisai Inc.

Location: Cambridge, MA

Lab Size: 50,000 ft² (4,645 m²)

Lab Cost: Over $100 million

Estimated Opening Date: Early 2019

The US subsidiary of Japanese pharmaceutical company is planning to launch the Eisai Center for Genetics Guided Dementia Discovery to drive research into Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The Center’s aim is to develop next generation medicines for dementia through specializing in immuno-dementia drug discovery. Constructed in the Alewife Research Center in Cambridge, the Center will be centered around four major functions: data sciences, immuno-dementia, discovery technologies and precision chemistry.

 

Boston Pharma Company Expands California Presence

Organization: Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Location: San Diego, CA

Lab Size: 170,000 ft² (15,793 m²)

Estimated Opening Date: 2018

Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ new research lab in California will double the company’s footprint in the state. The Boston-based company’s new facility has will dedicate approximately 70% of the building to lab and research space that is focused on cystic fibrosis, building upon the three cystic fibrosis medicines the company has worked on San Diego labs. The area will also include a 1,500 ft² (139 m²) education lab promoting arts, engineering, math and technology to students, as well as a 4,000 ft² (371 m²) incubator to foster collaboration with other organizations. Vertex has a 16-year lease on the facility.

 

Academic

Multi-Science Building Planned at EWU

Organization: Eastern Washington University

Location: Cheney, WA

Lab Size: 100,000 ft² (9,290 m²)

Lab Cost: $60.5 million

Estimated Opening Date: May 2020

The new Interdisciplinary Science Center at Eastern Washington University will replace a 47-year-old science building, and will house programs for biology, chemistry, engineering, geology, mathematics, physics and technology. Fostering EWU’s STEM programs, the Center will promote student-faculty research and encourage cutting edge research. The Center will be connected by enclosed walkways to the original science building, which is also planned for renovation in the future, with the addition of research labs and classrooms to the structure.

 

University of Vienna Gets New Biology Center

Organization: University of Vienna

Location: Vienna, Austria

Lab Size: 129,166 ft² (12,000 m²)

Lab Cost: €146 million ($171.6 million)

Estimated Opening Date: Spring 2021

The University of Vienna is constructing a new state-of-the-art research and education building to promote life science research at an internationally competitive level. The new Biology Center will be located near the Vienna Biocenter, the largest life sciences cluster in the country, and will support the Faculty of Life Sciences. The modern building will include the latest scientific instrumentation and shared labs.

 

Indiana Institute Lab to House New NMR Site

Organization: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Location: Terre Haute, IN

Lab Size: 60,000 ft² (5,574 m²)

Lab Cost: $29 million

Estimated Opening Date: 2021–22 school year

The new academic building will house collaborative workspaces, design studios, classrooms, chemistry labs and innovation spaces for faculty. Engineering design students will have access to a variety of spaces, including a prototyping lab, laser cutting tools, machine devices and a woodworking shop. Chemistry labs will be available for science students, providing hands-on learning of general, organic, analytical and physical chemistry, as well as biochemistry. An instrument lab and a site for NMR equipment will also be part of the new building.

 

California State Plans New Natural Sciences Complex

Organization: California State University

Location: Sacramento, CA

Lab Size: 96,631 ft² (5,574 m²)

Lab Cost: $91.5 million

Estimated Opening Date: June 2019

A new science facility providing teaching and research labs for the University’ College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in scheduled to be finished by next summer. The Ernest E. Tschannen Science Complex will be a five-story building providing collaboration spaces, teaching and research labs, classrooms, a rooftop observatory and a 120-seat planetarium. The instructional labs  will have large glass expanses near the public corridors to promote “science on display.”

 

University Helps Boost Chicago Bioscience Industry with New Research Building

Organization: Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

Location: North Chicago, IL

Lab Size: 100,000 ft² (9,290 m²)

Estimated Opening Date: Summer 2019

A four-story new addition will be coming to Rosalind Franklin University campus and will feature state-of-the-art labs, as well as office space for faculty, commercial startups, and both national and international health care and life science companies. The Innovation and Research Park will boost the established bioscience sector in Chicago, providing the industry with access to the University’s research programs. The building may be part of a multiphase development, which is forecast to generate approximately 500 direct and indirect jobs, with an annual economic development projection of $117 million on Lake County and the surrounding region. Approximately half of investigators will be working in the new Brain Science Institute and its three research centers focused on disease research, as well as three other centers specializing in genetic diseases, cancer cell biology, and proteomics and molecular therapeutics.