Biocontainment

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) completed construction of the Micro Nano Research Facility in August of 2014. Located on the University City campus in Melbourne, the collaborative 13,000-sf facility provides Class 100 and Class 1,000 cleanrooms, a PCL-2 biocontainment lab, a sensor technology lab, offices, training suites, and conference rooms. The multidisciplinary project was designed by SKM Jacobs and built by Brookfield Multiplex.

WIRB-Copernicus Group (WCG), a global provider of regulatory and ethical review services for clinical research, acquired Alliance Biosciences in July of 2014. With this addition, WCG Biosafety will be able to manage the entire continuum of biocontainment oversight, helping to ensure that research involving potentially hazardous agents and vectors complies with the appropriate regulatory requirements from laboratory design and drug discovery through clinical testing and therapeutic application.

The Pirbright Institute broke ground in July of 2014 on the $26 million Avian Diseases Lab in the United Kingdom. The 38,000-sf facility will provide CL-2 biocontainment space for in vitro research on infectious diseases affecting poultry and other livestock. Housing up to 90 scientists, the project will support the relocation of the Avian Viral Diseases program from Compton to Pirbright.
 

The National Centre for Biosecurity and Infectious Disease (NCBID) will begin construction in early 2015 on a $65 million biocontainment facility in Wallaceville, New Zealand. Designed by Merrick, the project will support advanced diagnostic testing for new and emerging infectious diseases, including zoonotic diseases that can impact human health. The facility will replace the existing animal health laboratory at the site and will meet international biosecurity standards.

Tufts University received permission from the Boston Public Health Commission in June of 2014 to begin operating the Arnold 8 Biosafety Laboratory. Supporting tuberculosis research, the BSL-3 facility is located in the Tufts School of Medicine’s Biomedical Research and Public Health Building. Development of the 1,700-sf lab began in spring of 2012 with construction commencing in February of 2013. The project architect was Shawmut Design & Construction.

The Caribbean Public Health Agency opened a BSL-3 biocontainment laboratory in May of 2013 in Trinidad & Tobago. Located in Port of Spain, the $2.5 million facility will support rapid sample processing for the detection of biological agents and infectious diseases. The lab was manufactured by GERMFREE, donated by the Government of Canada, and provided in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization.

The Pirbright Institute has awarded John Sisk & Son a $28.6 million contract to build a research facility for the study of livestock diseases. The two-story, 43,000-sf project is referred to as the CL2 Laboratory and will accommodate 90 scientists. BREAAM Excellent sustainable design certification will be sought for the biocontainment level two facility. The lab is part of a planned $168 million expansion of the Pirbright campus that will include a $118 million facility supporting avian disease research.

Southern Research Institute, in collaboration with Galveston National Laboratory, announced in April of 2014 that they have developed a semi-automated high-throughput screening (HTS) platform that is capable of testing 10,000 compounds per day within BSL-4 biocontainment conditions. The methodology was developed studying the Nipah virus and may contribute to the successful identification of compounds with antiviral activity.

TNO Triskelion opened a BSL-3 vaccine testing laboratory in March of 2014 in Zeist. The facility will enable the contract research organization to develop drugs to combat viruses including avian influenza, SARS, and tuberculosis. The biocontainment lab conforms to GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) standards and is able to test treatments against all subtypes of influenza, whether avian or human.

The Public Health Agency of Canada opened the 60,000-sf JC Wilt Infectious Diseases Centre in February of 2014 in Winnipeg. Designed by Smith Carter, the facility provides advanced laboratories for infectious diseases research, diagnostic testing, and early stage vaccine development. Housing up to 200 employees, the Centre includes a training area for biocontainment laboratory operations. The facility will also support research on HIV/AIDS and antimicrobial resistant organisms.

The award-winning Eva J. Pell Laboratory provides Biosafety Level Three (BSL-3) and Animal Biosafety Level Three (ABSL-3) high-containment laboratory space for pathogen and toxin research to support a growing infectious disease research program at Pennsylvania State University. The facility has been designed to support advanced research using CDC/USDA Select Agents. As many as 15 researchers—working in BSL-2, BSL-3, and ABSL-3 containment—study human and animal health issues they were previously unable to safely address on campus.

The National Institutes of Health opened a BSL-3 laboratory in Islamabad, Pakistan, in January of 2014. The facility will enable the rapid detection of biological agents and pathogens that pose a threat to public health. The lab will also accommodate research in virology and molecular biology in partnership with academic and industry partners.

Bringing biosafety laboratories into compliance with the BMBL 5^th Edition’s “zero airflow reversal” clause requires assessing risk appropriately, analyzing the impact of a pressure envelope on the facility, installing appropriate ventilation and control systems, and implementing new control strategies for practical testing.

Emory University’s 200,000-sf Health Sciences Research Building (HSRB) provides both wet and dry labs and BSL-2 and BSL-3 containment to pursue research in drug discovery, immunology and vaccines, neurosciences, cancer, gastroenterology, transplant immunology, nephrology, biomedical engineering, and human genetics.

Harlan Laboratories will create an animal research breeding facility in Hyderabad, India. The project will support production of immunodeficient mice for oncology and immunology research. The biosecure facility will supply mice solely to the Indian research market.