The first of IBO’s biannual new laboratory roundup focuses on new facilities for cancer treatment and research, along with new genetically modified (GM) crop labs and consumer products labs. In addition, the table on page 6 highlights plans for new labs for the automotive, pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries.

Three organizations, including two universities, have announced plans for cancer centers. The University of Arizona Cancer Center and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix will build a $100 million, 230,000-square-foot, six-story facility for cancer research and treatment. The facility is the first in Arizona to be deemed a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute, which means it will incorporate both patient care, and basic and applied research, prevention and education. The center will feature clinical lab space, specialized cancer clinics, and services such as radiation oncology and diagnostic imaging. The facility will take over outpatient clinical cancer services from St. Joseph’s main campus. Construction of the facility began late last year, and it is scheduled to open in 2015. The University of Nebraska plans to build a $110 million, 250,000-square-foot research tower that will contain 98 labs dedicated to cancer research. According to the University, the investment is expected to result in 460 jobs, including 50 research jobs, and an increase in the amount awarded in cancer research grants annually from $67 million to more than $100 million. The University expects the facility to create 1,200 jobs by 2020. Construction will begin in November and is expected to be finished by April 2016. Healthcare nonprofit Inova will build a $252 million, 300,000-square-foot, seven-story Comprehensive Cancer Center and Research Institute on its Fairfax campus in Virginia. Inova plans for the building to be the largest cancer treatment center in the Washington, DC, area. In addition, the Institute will support advanced cancer research, focusing on rare and complex cancers. Construction will begin in 2014.

Three companies are opening labs supporting GM crop research. Monsanto recently announced a $400 million expansion at its Chesterfield Village Research Center in St. Louis, Missouri, to develop new plant and seed technologies. The expansion will add 400,000 square feet of lab space, as well as greenhouses and plant chambers, and will create 675 jobs. Construction will commence in August. Also in the Midwest, Dow opened its 175,000-square-foot Biotechnology Research Center at its 192-acre Indianapolis campus earlier this month. Researchers at the Center are developing new crop protection methods and seed, trait and oil products. More than 200 researchers from Dow’s Advanced Technology Development, and Bioengineering and Bioprocessing Research and Development groups will work at the Center. The Center is expected to result in more than 550 jobs by 2015. In Kentucky, Beck’s Hybrids, a family owned and operated seed firm, will start building a 52,000-square-foot research and distribution facility in Henderson this spring, according to Henderson-based news site thegleaner.com. The facility will develop new varieties of GM and hybrid seeds, including those designed to withstand insects and droughts.

New consumer products labs have also recently been announced. In Asia, Univar and L’Oreal released plans for new labs in the UAE and India, respectively. Univar opened its Personal Care and Household & Industrial Cleaning Laboratory in Dubai in January. The firm, whose products include laundry and dish detergents, shampoos and lotions, has had a presence in Dubai since 2009. Univar consolidated all its testing and evaluation at the new facility. L’Oreal will start building its first R&D facility in Mumbai, India, this year. Researchers at the 5,000-square-meter (53,820-square-foot) Product Development Center will study beauty trends of Indian consumers to develop products. L’Oreal has pledged to invest 970 crore ($179 million = INR 54.18 = $1) in the facility between 2011 and 2016. The region is among L’Oreal’s top-five markets in the world, according to the firm. More than 100 chemistry, biotechnology, chemical, engineering, physics and biology researchers will be hired to work at the facility by the end of 2013, according to Indian magazine Chaindia. In the US, Rubbermaid plans to open an R&D facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 2014. The $4 million, 40,000-square-foot Kalamazoo Design Center will develop new products for the firm’s more than 40 brands, including Sharpie, Graco and Irwin. The facility will house 100 employees.