Biocontainment

Construction of the 41,000-square-foot New England Regional Biosafety Laboratory at Tufts University is now complete.

Ethiopia's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development opened a $90,000 biosafety laboratory in Sebeta in May of 2009. The BSL-3 facility will be operated by the National Animal Health Diagnostic and Investigation Centre. Enabling the diagnosis of zoonotic and infectious diseases, the facility includes biosafety cabinets, a refrigerated micro-centrifuge, incubators, a thermo-mixer, and a PCR work station.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Health announced plans in May of 2009 to build a flu vaccine research and production facility. The laboratory will eventually manufacture a single human vaccine for swine and avian flu viruses. A flu vaccine laboratory is currently under construction at Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java. Construction began on a flu vaccine facility at the PT Biofarma campus in Bandung in May of 2009.

The Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation opened its 9,000-sf vaccine manufacturing facility in Rockville, Md., in April of 2009. The project will support tuberculosis vaccine development and production, as well as research into aerosol vaccine formulations. The BSL-2 facility was built by general contractor Whiting-Turner of Baltimore.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is building the $105 million Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Md. Housing BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4 laboratories for select agent and infectious disease research, the IRF will provide 11,125-sf of secure research space for 30 investigators. The building will feature PET, CT, MRI, and X-ray scanners to study the effects of infectious diseases on primates. The construction manager for the project is Gilbane Building Company.

NanoLogix began construction on a manufacturing facility for bacteria and pathogen test kits in April of 2009. Located at NanoLogix’s headquarters in Hubbard, Ohio, the 2,800-sf project will include a production cleanroom and a cold storage vault. The BNP™ Ultra-Fast test kits will be used to detect agents such as anthrax, bubonic plague, e-coli, salmonella, listeria, and enterobacter.

Idaho Technology celebrated the opening of its new $8.5 million R&D facility in Salt Lake City in April of 2009. Located in the University of Utah Research Park, the 41,000-sf project houses laboratories for the development of infectious disease and biological warfare testing solutions. Clinical trials will begin in mid-2009 on the technology, which will be released as kits for the detection of viruses, bacteria, and select agents in 2010.

Tufts University dedicated the $33.7 million New England Regional Biosafety Laboratory on March 30, 2009. Sited on 5.4 acres in North Grafton, Mass., the 41,000-sf project provides 649-sf of BSL-2 space and 8,480-sf of BSL-3 space for zoonotic disease research. The secure facility was designed by Flad Architects and includes laboratories, a vivarium, an insectary, and support space. Construction began on the laboratory in September of 2007.

Washington State University’s Board of Regents approved the schematic design for the $35 million School for Global Animal Health in Pullman, Wash., in late March of 2009. The 47,000-sf facility will be sited adjacent to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and will accommodate 12 to 15 scientists. Housing research laboratories for the study of zoonotic diseases, emerging pathogen detection, and vaccine development, the facility is funded in part by a $25 million donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Fraunhofer USA has selected Nason Construction as the construction manager for a bird flu vaccine plant in Wilmington, Del. Located in Delaware Technology Park, the 14,000-sf GMP facility will support research and manufacturing of plant-based avian influenza vaccine. The project is supported by funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Completion is expected in fall of 2009.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute is partnering with the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, to construct a $20 million HIV and tuberculosis research facility. Integrated with the Doris Duke Medical Research Institute at Nelson Mandela Medical School, the six-story facility will include two floors of high level biocontainment laboratories.

The Department of Homeland Security issued its Request for Proposals (RFP) for preliminary construction bids on the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in March of 2009. The Department will hold a Pre-proposal Conference for general contractors at 9 a.m. on April 7 in the student union auditorium at Kansas State University. The first construction phase of the NBAF, the nation’s leading plant and animal health laboratory, is estimated at $523 million. The total project investment will be $650 million. 

The Canadian parliament is considering legislation that would regulate registration of select agents and promote safety and security. Bill C-11, the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act, would require individuals to obtain clearances for select agent access, with disease agents categorized by threat level. The legislation would also establish handling procedures for each level. For more information, view Bill C-11.

The National Institutes of Health will seek input on the attributes of the Personnel Reliability Program on April 3, 2009. The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) will be making a set of recommendations regarding personnel reliability programs for individuals who would work with select agents. A portion of their recommendations will address the measures that institutions should undertake to assess whether individuals are trustworthy and reliable to work with these agents.

Two select agent and biosafety bills were proposed in Congress in February of 2009. In the Senate, the Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2009 would monitor federal oversight of biocontainment laboratories, improve training, and create a system for accident reporting. The act would also provide funding for the U.S. Select Agent Program.