Industry News

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will dedicate the National Biodefense Analysis & Countermeasures Center (NBACC) on October 22, 2008. Part of the National Interagency Biodefense Campus at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., NBACC will support biological threat characterization and bioforensic research. The 160,000-sf lab will employ approximately 120 people and will include a vivarium and BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories.

North Carolina State University opened the Man-in-Simulant Test (MIST) laboratory in Raleigh in mid-2008. Located in NC State's College of Textiles, the facility will allow researchers to evaluate the capabilities of protective garments against non-toxic vapors that resemble chemical and biological agents. The laboratory is the only one of its kind located at a university in the United States and was funded by a two-year, $2 million grant from the Department of Defense.

The Department of Homeland Security announced the finalists for the possible location of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in August of 2008. The five locations reported as finalists are:

Australia’s CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) opened its high-throughput diagnostic emergency response center in Geelong in July of 2008. The leading edge laboratory will provide rapid testing of samples for animal diseases such as foot and mouth or equine influenza. Providing a core diagnostic area, a test development and validation facility, and space for predictive biomodeling, the secure facility is able to perform serology tests on up to 10,000 samples per day in the event of an outbreak.

The Department of Health occupied its 5,285-sf BSL-3 laboratory in Washington, D.C., on May 29, 2008. Planning for the $9.6 million project began in 1999. The facility will support rapid identification of emerging disease agents and potential biological threats with the capacity to perform up to 30,000 tests per year.