BIOTECH
UPDATE

McIlvaine Company
www.mcilvainecompany.com

 May 2006

Albany Molecular Research Opening R&D Centre in India

Albany Molecular Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMRI) announced  the construction of a new 50,000 sq. ft. research and development centre at the Shapoorji Pallonji Biotech Park in Hyderabad, India. The company held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new facility, which represents the first major expansion of the company's Hyderabad Research Centre, a subsidiary of Albany Molecular Research, Inc.

When completed in late 2007, the new R&D center will conduct contract projects in early stage drug discovery research, including custom chemical synthesis and medicinal chemistry. In addition, the new facility will house a scale-up laboratory, which will be used to develop efficient methods for producing larger quantities of active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates.

When fully staffed, the new facility will add over 100 employees to the company's existing Hyderabad operations, which currently have 19 employees in the nearby ICICI Knowledge Park. The current facility can accommodate up to 40 employees and is expected to reach full capacity in the coming months.

Seoul National University Research Center Project Cancelled

The Ministry of Science and Technology recently cancelled a contract to construct a biotechnology research center at SNU and a bio-organ research center in Suwon, which were projects based on Hwang’s fraudulent studies. However, of the 16.5 billion won the ministry slated for these projects, about 3 billion won has already been used for designing the buildings and managing the construction grounds, with no clear way to recover it.

Port St. Lucie Plans to spend $44-million to Build Burnham Facility

In the high-stakes race to lure California's Burnham Institute to Florida, Port St. Lucie has assembled an aggressive proposal that includes spending upward of $44 million to build a state-of-the-art complex for the medical research nonprofit.

The main strength of the offer is something that was conspicuously absent from The Scripps Research Institute's bid to build a campus in Palm Beach County: speed.

Since Port St. Lucie would pay for construction of the 175,000-square-foot, two-story facility for a Burnham satellite campus west of Interstate 95, it could fast-track approval of the project and complete construction within 18 to 24 months, several officials said.

That agility, coupled with the fact that Scripps is building a campus less than 30 minutes down the road, has made Port St. Lucie officials increasingly confident their offer will deliver the nationally recognized institute.

Some officials predict they could have a letter of intent from Burnham by the end of the month. But the swift construction won't be cheap. A source familiar with the negotiations said the sophisticated laboratory and office space would cost the city $250 to $400 a square foot. Depending on the final costs, that means the city could shell out far more than $44 million — not including land — for the building at Tradition, an expansive community off Gatlin Boulevard being developed by Core Communities Inc.

Citing confidentiality agreements, Port St. Lucie leaders have for months avoided disclosing particulars about their pitch to Burnham, which reportedly totals $80 million. As a decision nears, however, details are seeping out.  Eve Samples, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sanofi-Aventis Expands R&D Facility

Sanofi-Aventis has entered into a long-term lease with BioMed Realty Trust in Cambridge, MA, to accommodate a significant expansion of its R&D facility. "This expansion coupled with the emerging innovative technology from the quality universities that surround us, will help Sanofi-Aventis to meet its R&D goals while operating in the very heart of this biotech hub," said Porter McMillian, senior vice president, U.S. Science & Medical Affairs for SA.

The building is approximately 73,000 sq. ft., more than twice the space at the current facility. Occupancy is expected in the second quarter of 2007, following interior renovations. SA will be moving all of its employees from the current location at 26 Landsdowne Street into a larger facility at 270 Albany Street. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

New Biotechnology Research Facility in Madison, Wisconsin

The Wisconsin State Building Commission approved the building of a biotechnology research facility on the UW-Madison campus. The State Building Commission agreed to pay $50 million in state funding for the preliminary phase of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, finalizing approval by a seven-to-one vote. The Institute would provide an interdisciplinary biotechnology research facility on the UW-Madison campus.

State Rep. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, chair of the Building Commission’s Higher Education Subcommittee, stressed the importance of biotechnology research.

With the approval, the date has been set for the Institute’s construction.

“It would begin construction in December of 2007 to be completed in 2009,” said Anne Lupardus, spokesperson for Gov. Jim Doyle. “Then there is a phase two and three of the project, which would expand and occupy the 1200 block of University Avenue directly to the east of phase one.”

WiCell Research Institute has been selected by the National Institute of Health (NIH) to establish the first and only federal National Stem Cell Bank. The Institute will serve research by performing comprehensive characterization of human embryonic stem cell lines and distributing these cell lines to investigators. NSCB will also provide technical assistance and training in state-of-the art methods for cultures and testing.  By September 2006, there will be 80 investigators studying human embryonic stem cells at WiCell and UW-Madison. 

Collaboration between Penn State University and Mount Nittany Medical Center has been ongoing throughout the years.

One of the more notable partnerships has been the development of the Penn State Cancer Institute, for which Mount Nittany Medical Center is a founding member. Through this affiliation, both organizations maintain their independence while working together to expand and develop specialty cancer services, recruit world-class medical specialists and jointly develop disease-management programs, clinical trial enrollment, educational opportunities and a coordinated approach for referrals. Unique to the institute is its network of comprehensive outpatient cancer services that provide patients in rural areas with a level of care normally only found in metropolitan areas.

A Facility for the Penn State Cancer Institute is Slated for Construction

A facility for the Penn State Cancer Institute is slated for construction adjacent to Mount Nittany Medical Center in the near future.

Another collaboration involves Penn State's School of Nursing, housed in the University’s College of Health and Human Development. Approximately half of the undergraduate nursing students at Penn State's University Park campus gain clinical experience at Mount Nittany Medical Center as part of their curriculum; the other half gain their experience at Penn State Hershey Medical Center.

Nursing is not the only academic partnership between Penn State and Mount Nittany Medical Center. An undergraduate program in clinical laboratory science housed in the University's Eberly College of Science requires students to spend three years of academic study followed by a 12-month practicum in a clinical laboratory. Following completion of this rigorous program, students receive a baccalaureate degree in biotechnology with a clinical lab science option, and are eligible to sit for national certification examination.

Mount Nittany Medical Center's School of Clinical Laboratory Science is partnered with Penn State Hershey Medical Center to provide the laboratory experiences for students seeking this career certification. Programs at both medical centers are certified by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science.

ASU Builds Biotech Facilities

BIODESIGN INSTITUTE AT ASU BUILDING B
The second phase of the Biodesign Institute, this $78.5 million building is the “Front Door” to the complex and physically connected at all floor levels to Arizona Biodesign Institute-Phase 1. This facility comprises approximately 145,000 square feet of bioengineering, biotechnology, integrative biomedicine laboratories, and 32,000 square feet of faculty/research and administrative offices. Design professionals were Gould Evans Associates / Lord, Aeck, Sargent Architecture. ASU selected the joint venture of Sundt/ DPR as construction manager at risk. The project first received Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) Project Approval in Jan. 2004. Subsequently, it received revised Project Approval for a scope and budget increase in June 2005. The building was substantially completed in November 2005.

INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY BUILDING I
The $74 million building will provide 180,000 square feet of space for the expansion of the School of Life Sciences, Bioengineering, and related life sciences. ISTB I is a multi-disciplinary research building containing NMR imaging, bioscience and biotechnology core facilities, a BSL3 lab, research laboratories, and offices. ASU selected architecture firm Perkins & Will and the construction management firm Gilbane to design and construct the facility. ISTB I received Project Approval from ABOR in June 2004. The building was substantially completed in January 2006.

New Research Laboratory Facility for the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research at the University of Florida

This project is for construction of a new research laboratory facility for the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research at the University of Florida. The new building will include research laboratories, teaching labs, and administrative office space in support of university wide research programs. The proposed Biotechnology Laboratory Pavilion is programmed to be a 24,500 sq. ft. facility, providing 16,500 sq. ft.  to house the research, training and administrative operations of the ICBR. This facility will allow the ICBR to consolidate their operations which are currently located in six different Health Science Center and Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences facilities, as well as a small one story administrative building. Design and construction will be concurrent with that of UF-136, the Genetics and Cancer Research Center.

Project Manager: Frank Javaheri
Architect: Hunton Brady Architects, Inc.
Contractor: Turner-PPI, JV
Scheduled Completion Date: February 2006

Genzyme has a New 177,000 SF Science Building for R&D

ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge, a nationally-recognized architectural design firm specializing in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical industries and academic facilities with Bovis Lend Lease, a local and global leader in the construction management of life science facilities, today announced that Genzyme Corporation this week held a topping off ceremony for its new, innovative 177,000-square-foot science building located at 49 New York Avenue in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Designed by ARC and being constructed by Bovis Lend Lease, the new state-of-the-art laboratory and administrative office facility will be the signature building on Genzyme's Framingham campus. The building will be ready for occupancy in the third quarter of 2007.

Designed to accommodate a major portion of Genzyme's research activities, the new building will consolidate scientists located in a number of different locations, fulfilling a corporate objective to enhance the relationships between research groups. Each floor has been designed to promote collaboration and facilitate lab flexibility by locating a continuous band of laboratory bench space adjacent to the central support facilities.  In addition, the building is organized around a six-story atrium surrounded by casual meeting and lounge spaces to further encourage the spirit of interaction and teamwork

The project also includes a separate 27,300-square-foot central utilities building that will supply the new Science Building, as well as the existing research, manufacturing and development buildings on the campus.

As part of this project, Genzyme is participating in the Laboratories of the 21 Century (Labs21) program, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The goal of the program is to improve the environmental performance of U.S. laboratories. The building's green features include a sophisticated heating and cooling system, high-efficiency fume hoods for researchers, low-flow water fixtures and landscaping based on drought-tolerant native species. The extensive use of glass was designed to maximize day lighting in conjunction with active artificial lighting controls.

Genzyme is also seeking certification for the building under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™. The LEED certification system was created to define "green" building by providing a common standard of measurement.

This is ARC's sixth major project for Genzyme. ARC started working with Genzyme in 1991 with the design of their Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant along the Charles River in Allston.  Since then, ARC has designed four other projects for Genzyme including the renovation of the Five Mountain Road Laboratory completed in 2000 and the 2001 addition

The Science Center has 130,000 Sq. Ft. of Lab Space

The Science Center, a Total Venture Ecosystem™ for science and technology based companies, today named Wexford Science & Technology, LLC as its development partner, and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership as architects, supported by Philadelphia-based architect, Ueland, Junker, McCauley, Nicholson, for Phase I of its 1.8 million square-foot real estate expansion program.

Phase I will consist of approximately 130,000 sq. ft. of wet laboratory capable research space, 15,000 sq. ft. of retail space and structured parking for 500 cars at 3711 Market Street. The Science Center ultimately will add five buildings to its West Philadelphia campus as part of its real estate master plan.

The building program is part of the Center's strategic effort to provide companies with the full range of facilities and services they need to accelerate commercialization.

"The Science Center is the nation's preeminent destination for early-stage life science companies across the globe," said Pradip Banerjee, President and CEO of the Science Center. "This expansion will double our capacity, and enhance our ability to power the commercialization of promising innovations."

Wexford Science & Technology, LLC is a company with a long history of working with universities, research parks and health systems. The company has collaborated with the Science Center on two previous projects, including the Science Center's Port of Technology building at 3701 Market Street.

Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership is recognized nationally for their work with universities, research institutions, healthcare organizations and private corporations with a focus in technology. Among other notable projects, the firm designed New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; University of Chicago's Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery; the Food and Drug Administration's regional laboratory in Irvine, California; and the National Institutes of Health's Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Construction will kick off with a groundbreaking in August. The building, at 3711 Market Street, is expected to open in late 2007.

The real estate master plan is expected to create several thousand construction related jobs and permanent jobs when built out, adding facilities for 40 new life science and high tech companies with a combined market value of $1 billion by 2010. Over its history, the Science Center has been an important engine of economic growth in Philadelphia. It has been home to 350 new technology and life science companies, creating over 26,000 jobs in the region.

About The Science Center

The Science Center (www.ScienceCenter.org ) is a total "Venture ecosystem™" that finds, forms, funds and manages early-stage life science and technology companies, accelerates their commercialization and provides the infrastructure and community they need to flourish. It offers specialized wet and dry laboratory facilities, turn-key management services, a $10 million Venture fund and an experienced real estate management team. Situated on 1.7 million sq. ft. of real estate on Market Street, adjacent to all of Philadelphia's major universities and medical research institutions, Science Center is positioned in close proximity to New York's financial markets, regulators in Washington, DC and 80% of the world's pharmaceutical companies. Science Center brings together strong science and scientists, entrepreneurs, managers, grants and investment capital. It is an attractive "soft landing" place for international companies to launch their US businesses, and is a powerful economic engine for the regional economy. The oldest urban research park in the United States, the Science Center has launched more than 350 companies creating more than 26,000 jobs since its inception. Since 2002, companies started at Science Center have attracted more than $350 million in additional investments.

UNCC to Open Office at Research Campus

KANNAPOLIS - KANNAPOLIS UNC Charlotte is strengthening ties to the North Carolina Research Campus and will open an office of its Charlotte Research Institute near the fledgling biotech hub next week.

The announcement came Monday at a biotechnology forum sponsored by Kannapolis. The event, attended by more than 180 people, highlighted work at the $1 billion campus from California billionaire David Murdock and examined the industry's regional and state presence.

"We're (already) getting some calls" about the campus, said Robert Wilheim, the research institute's executive director. His group works to develop partnerships between the university and businesses.

North Carolina remains a distant third for states with the most public and private biotech companies, trailing California and Massachusetts, according to accounting firm Ernst & Young's annual biotech industry report that recently was released for 2005.

North Carolina can help fend off challenges from states such as Maryland that trail close behind it by promoting projects like the research campus and its emphasis on attracting new and existing companies, said Michael Constantino, a partner at Ernst & Young's Raleigh office.

The research campus has touted its network of partnerships with UNC Chapel Hill, N.C. State and Duke University as a major strength; each university will have a significant presence at the site.

UNCC is also looking to the research campus to expand its work in the emerging field of bioinformatics. Before announcing its new institute office at the campus, the university had committed to running its the Bioinformatics Core Facility at the Kannapolis site. Bioinformatics uses computers to analyze cells and other biological matter, helping scientists answer questions about diseases and aging, among other topics.

The UNC system estimates it will need $116 million in funding over the next five fiscal years. That figure grew by about $5 million from a February estimate as the system added more universities in supporting roles and refined earlier budget projections, said system Associate Vice President Joni Worthington.

Murdock is scheduled to testify before a legislative committee regarding public funding for the UNC system's operations at the research campus. The system is seeking $5.6 million for the 2006-07 fiscal year. Murdock is paying for the campus project through his personal fortune and the companies he owns, Dole Food Co. and Castle & Cooke Inc.

Lynne Scott Safrit, project manager for the research campus, led a tour of the construction at the 350-acre site. The campus is being built at the former Pillowtex Corp. mill complex, most of which has been demolished. The plant's smokestacks are set to come down in late June, Safrit said. -- Staff writer Mark Johnson contributed.

Marshall University Builds New Biotech Center

While Marshall University's campus is largely void of students now, activity continues unabated on various construction projects.

More than $70 million worth of projects currently are under way, including the highly anticipated Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Center on campus along 3rd Avenue. Off campus, the Clinical Education and Outreach Center for Marshall's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine is blossoming on the site of the former Fairfield Stadium along Charleston Avenue.

"That's going to be awesome," he said of the nearly $47 million Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Center. "It's already looking good and making campus look better."

Meadows said "state-of-the-art" doesn't even begin to describe the facility, which will include 43 research labs and two large auditoriums. "We think it's going to be one of the showcases of the Tri-State," he said.

Project superintendent Mark Belmar of Mascaro Construction Co. in Pittsburgh said he is pleased with progress of the biotech center. The 144,000-square-foot facility is expected to be ready to accommodate faculty by August, with classes possibly scheduled by the Spring 2007 semester. Belmar said finishing touches include installing lavatory equipment, exterior lighting and flooring.

"When I came here, this was a parking lot," he said. "To see it now, we're all proud."

A sense of pride also exists prominently around the Clinical Education and Outreach Center. Jim Schneider, senior associate dean for finance and administration of Marshall's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, said the nearly $22 million facility will feature about 80,000 square feet of space, including a 120-seat lecture hall, patient clinics and numerous classrooms. He said the facility will allow the medical school to nearly double its yearly class size to about 75 students, who will gain experience they typically would receive in a "live" clinical setting.

Scripps in Florida

One last approval is needed for Scripps' 100-acre campus to be built in northern Palm Beach County. Scripps' board of trustees met May 22 in California to discuss a new contract with Palm Beach County. The institute's executive board unanimously approved the contract, already signed by Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti.

Unique Life Science Center Rises from the Desert in Multidisciplinary Lab

Arizona State University has created a multidisciplinary lab that it plans to use to build a world-class biotechnology infrastructure for the area.

Like the mythical bird The Phoenix, the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) located in Tempe, just southeast of Phoenix, very quickly has established an “intense excitement” within the life science research community. The Institute was founded in 2002 and housed initially in temporary quarters, so long before its current facility was completed, its administrators were able to scan the research community and collect a core group of world-class intellectual re-searchers. They’re now building upon that R&D infrastructure within their newly occupied research facility.

The structure that is the Biodesign Institute boasts a design that promotes interdisciplinary research, laboratory flexibility, operational sustainability, support for advanced science and technology development, researcher recruitment, and aesthetic design. The Biodesign Institute is clearly a unique facility and the recipient of this year’s R&D Magazine Laboratory of the Year award. The 2006 Lab of the Year awards are particularly notable in that this is the 40th annual awards presentation, which were presented to the lab designers and owners in an awards ceremony and reception at R&D’s Laboratory Design Conference in Atlanta on April 4, 2006.

It’s particularly fitting that the Biodesign Institute is the 40th Lab of the Year, because the Institute represents more than just a well-designed and planned facility. Like the phoenix, the Biodesign Institute is the embodiment of Arizona’s vision for what the state wants to become in the future—a global center for life science research and commerce. Bud Guest, SVP at McCarthy Building Companies, St. Louis, MO., and a judge in this year’s competition recognized this value. “With its excellent functionality and truly multidisciplinary design, the Biodesign Institute is destined to make a positive contribution to development of the biotech industry in Arizona,” he says.

Over the past several years, ASU has been transformed into what its administrators term as a New American University. Funded by a voter-approved tax supporting university research and driven by a dynamic university president with a far-reaching vision, ASU has become one of the premier metropolitan public research universities in the nation—indeed, in the Fall 2005, ASU was ranked as the largest U.S. university with more than 51,700 students (re: National Center for Educational Statistics Enrollment). And a substantial part of that transformation has been the creation of the Biodesign Institute.

For their part, Institute researchers work on complex projects and seek an accelerated pace of discovery, with the structure and function of living systems serving as a common starting point. That said, the majority of research being conducted at the Biodesign Institute is organized around four key systems, each with a unifying strategic focus—biological systems, nanoscale systems, cognitive systems, and sustainable systems. There are a number of research centers that are already operating within the Institute that fit this focus:

These centers house multiple research teams that work collaboratively with other teams to solve complex problems. More than 20 advanced research centers are expected to be housed within the Institute’s final four-building complex.

The Biodesign Institute occupies a 13-acre site and serves as the new eastern gateway to the ASU campus. It is situated at the terminus of the major university mall that connects the science departments and ASU’s Cancer Research Institute.

Jenoptik Reorganizes and Opens Europe's Largest' Plastic Optics Facility

As the company opens Europe's largest dedicated plastic optics R&D and manufacturing facility today, Jenoptik is rebranding itself. Its subsidiary formerly known as Wahl Optoparts is refashioned to better fit the group identity and grow its medical technologies business, while Jenoptik Jena is reborn as Jenoptik Germany.

The Jenoptik Group opened a new production building for plastic optics and optical systems - the largest and most modern in Europe - in the town of Triptis, Thuringia, Germany. Jenoptik subsidiary Wahl Optoparts has simultaneously rebranded itself as Jenoptik Polymer Systems (JPS).

The new identity of JPS, which has been a Jenoptik subsidiary since December 2003, is intended to emphasize its involvement with the restructured Jenoptik Group, which specializes in the use and exploitation of light as an industrial tool.

Four sites operated by Jenoptik subsidiaries have been combined in the new building on the Triptis industrial park, encompassing an investment of €9 million (US$11.5 million) - excluding equipment. Triptis is a few kilometers from the company's former location in Jena.

There is enough space to meet the expected growth of JPS: the new production building covers 8,000 m2, with cleanroom facilities alone accounting for 1,400 m2 and 1,800 m2 taken up by commercial areas and administration. Manufacturing quality will also be improved by the better air conditioning facilities.

Jenoptik also invested €2.5 million (US$3.2 million) in new machinery, amongst others for the assembly and packaging technology area. Now that the building is complete this new site will go into the mass production of client-specific modules for image sensors, light detection as well as lighting units.

In the new production facility JPS will be able to manufacture plastic optics more efficiently than in its previous locations. Optics design, injection molding machines, state-of-the-art coating systems, the assembly technologies for the integration of the optics within complete assemblies and systems, and the assembly and packaging technology, which was only added in October 2005, are now housed under one roof.

The process chain can therefore now be managed more efficiently since there is no longer a need to cope with manufacturing interfaces and long distribution routes. Jenoptik says this will enable the subsidiary to manufacture not only plastic optics in large volumes but also complex optoelectronic systems on a customer-specific basis and to a high standard of quality.

The fact that part of the manufacturing process is carried out under cleanroom conditions should ensure that these systems meet the market's stringent quality demands.

In addition, a sophisticated air-conditioning system will provide for enhanced process reliability on every level of the value-added process. In particular, JPS expects further expansion as a consequence of meeting the high standards demanded by the medical technology business.

Plastic optics are increasingly being deployed in medical equipment, automobiles, multimedia devices (such as web cams and camera phones) and in industrial measurement technology and mechanical engineering.

Jenoptik says that demand has risen strongly across the range of plastic optics applications in recent years. In medical technology, these are mainly in optoelectronic systems for so-called one-off diagnostics, including domestic applications, which are increasing the demand for this lower cost alternative to glass optics.

McIlvaine Company,
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