Biotechnology

The College of William & Mary opened the third phase of the Integrated Science Center (ISC3) in September of 2016 in Williamsburg, Va. Accommodating programs in applied science, biology, chemistry, psychology, neuroscience, and computer modeling, the $74 million interdisciplinary facility features 13 chemistry research labs, four teaching labs, instrumentation suites, a computational lab, a biological sciences makerspace, a spectroscopy lab, and a complete machine shop.

GE Healthcare is planning to create a $167 million biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Ringaskiddy, Ireland. Featuring GE's prefabricated KUBio™ facilities, GE BioPark Cork will include four KUBio factories owned by independent biopharma companies. GE will manage the campus as well as providing centralized shared utilities and site services. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2017.

The University of Saskatchewan will begin construction in fall of 2016 on the CAD$63 million Collaborative Science Research Building in Saskatoon. The facility will accommodate research on water security and plant science, enabling the development of advanced biofuels, water purification systems, drought-resistant crops, and sustainable pest-control mechanisms. Completion is expected in spring of 2018.

New York Medical College (NYMC), a large private health sciences university in the Hudson Valley, has gut-renovated a portion of the first floor of a former 1970s cancer research center to create a new clinical skills training center, and new biotechnology incubator space near the core campus.

The 23,200-gsf clinical skills training center is a state-of-the-art facility that provides a controlled environment for teaching, observation, and assessment of healthcare-related skills required for the training of medical and other health professions students. 

The Pennsylvania State University is planning a $44.5 million renovation and expansion of the Agricultural Engineering Building in University Park. Providing multidisciplinary laboratories and classrooms, the project will add 35,000 sf to the existing 64,533-sf (44,581-asf) structure. The building houses the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, a department jointly administered by the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering.

The University of New South Wales is building the AUD$125 million Biological Sciences Building in Sydney, Australia. Located on the Kensington campus, the 234,000-sf facility will provide teaching and research laboratories for the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences and the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences. Designed by Woods Bagot to optimize flexibility and adaptability, the project will utilize mobile lab benching systems in collaborative research areas located adjacent to support zones with dedicated write-up spaces.

AstraZeneca is building the £750 million Global R&D Centre and Corporate Headquarters on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in the United Kingdom. Providing advanced facilities for pharmaceutical discovery and development, the 580,000-sf project will include space for biologics research, high throughput screening, medicinal chemistry, pre-clinical research, and clinical studies. Designed to optimize interaction and connectivity, the collaborative 11-acre campus will accommodate approximately 2,000 employees and will include an on-site energy center.

Pfizer broke ground in late June of 2016 on the $350 million Global Biotechnology Center in China. Located in the Hangzhou Economic Development Area (HEDA), the facility will manufacture pharmaceutical biosimilars, which are drugs designed with similar active properties to existing licensed therapies. The project will feature a modular production facility created by GE Healthcare that utilizes flexible, single-use biomanufacturing technologies. The duration of construction will be 18 months with completion expected in early 2018.

JHL Biotech opened a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in May of 2016 in Wuhan, China. Featuring single-use bioprocessing technologies, the cGMP facility utilizes GE Healthcare's prefabricated KUBio system to produce biosimilars and monoclonal antibodies for late–stage clinical trials and commercial supply. The project was completed in just 18 months.

Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies opened a 62,000-sf biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in May of 2016 in Morrisville, N.C. Accommodating collaborative research and development, the three-story BioProcess Innovation Center supports the creation and production of advanced proteins, vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies. The project team included Alexandria Real Estate Equities and KBR Building Group. Ground was broken on the project in January of 2015.

Valent BioSciences is planning to construct the Biorational Research Center at Innovation Park in Libertyville, Ill. Enabling the consolidation of the company's chemistry, biology, microbiology, fermentation, and formulations labs in a single location, the $22 million project includes the buildout of 65,000 sf to create labs and offices as well as the construction of a 10,000-sf research greenhouse. Completion is expected in mid-2017. Valent BioSciences is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical Company.

Shire Pharmaceuticals will begin construction in mid-2016 on a new biologics manufacturing campus in Piercetown, Ireland. Sited on 120 acres in County Meath, the project is part of Shire's $400 million investment over four years to expand its biopharmaceutical production capacity. The facility will utilize advanced bioprocessing technologies and will accommodate over 400 employees. Operations will commence at the site in mid-2019.

Global pharmaceutical manufacturer Lonza began construction in April of 2016 on a 100,000-sf facility in Pearland, Texas. Featuring a fully segregated fill/finish suite, the project will include eight independent cGMP modular cleanrooms with single-use bioreactors for the production of viral gene and virally modified therapeutics. Grade-B cleanrooms will also be constructed to continue the manufacture of EMA-regulated cell therapy products. Operations are expected to begin at the site in mid-2017.

The University of Texas at Dallas opened the $108 million Bioengineering and Sciences facility in June of 2016. Designed to promote interaction and collaboration, the four-story, 220,000-sf project is physically connected to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Laboratory. The facility provides classrooms, faculty offices, and teaching and research labs for programs in biology, chemistry, physics, and electrical and mechanical engineering. Construction began on the project in late 2013.

A backlog of construction, renovations, and upgrades may finally come to life, thanks to the $2 billion increase in NIH funding Congress approved in December, the first increase in more than 12 years. More than 80 percent of the $32 billion NIH budget is dedicated to extramural research—research outside the NIH itself—meaning that an additional $1.6 billion in research grants will be made available this year.