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laboratories; and organizations involved with forensics, testing of
biotoxins, and management of the nation’s organ transplantation
process.
The
Park currently has over 1.1 million square feet of research,
laboratory, office and support space in nine buildings and employ more
than 2,000 people. Also located at the Park is the Commonwealth of
Virginia’s Division of Consolidated Laboratories, a $63 million state
laboratory with over 190,000 square feet of space. The new facility is
one of 5 laboratories in the United States equipped with Biosafety
Level 4 (BSL4) lab space specifically designed to meet worldwide
standards for safely handling the most dangerous pathogens.
The
Park’s incubator facility is Virginia’s first technology incubator and
is housed in the Virginia Biotechnology Center, the Virginia
BioTechnology Research Park’s first building. Since its founding in
1996, more than 60 companies have started in the incubator, including
14 from VCU. Sixteen have successfully graduated, with four having
relocated to larger space in the Park. Three companies - Insmed Inc.,
Allos Therapeutics Inc., and Commonwealth Biotechnologies, Inc. - are
now publicly traded firms
Satellite sites in the surrounding counties are available for projects
that are too large to be accommodated at the downtown site. Parts of
Chesterfield County’s Meadowville Technology Park and Henrico County’s
White Oak Technology Park have recently been designated for
biotechnology and other life sciences projects. |
