Designing and Building a First of its Kind Facility For Biomagnetics Production
August 8, 2023
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In the pursuit of achieving a truly novel bioprocessing facility for the production of best-in-class cGMP ferrofluid based cell selection technologies, BioMagnetic Solutions turned to PROTECS, a renowned full-service design/build and construction management company specializing in the hi-tech regulated market sectors.
The new $10M facility, which is the first of its kind in the United States, will produce BioMagnetic’s magnetic liquids used to create the tools, reagents and cell selection systems to support the needs of therapeutic cell and gene therapy companies.
“PROTECS is a proven and trusted project delivery partner for clients, just like BioMagnetic Solutions, with process and compliance-driven projects who seek a new level of efficiency throughout the entire project lifecycle,” shared Chris DiPaolo, CEO and President of PROTECS.
The highly intentional decision to locate outside of the traditional biotech hubs, like Cellicon Valley in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Research Triangle North Carolina or Boston, broke the mold of traditional commercial strategies in the industry. BioMagnetic Solutions instead chose to plant roots alongside a critical talent pipeline and resources that would help propel the company’s commercialization. The Happy Valley site selection aligned the company with the innovation and infrastructure emerging from Penn State’s world-leading expertise in supply chain management, materials, and analytical sciences.
DiPaolo founded PROTECS to break the mold in how high tech facilities were being designed and built. The result became PROTECS’ revolutionary patented Target Costing® delivery methodology through which the company serves as a single point of contact and accountability for master planning, site selection, design, construction, commissioning, and validation. It was that type of thinking that made them the right partner to help BioMagnetic Solutions bring the vision for their facility to life.
When DiPaolo’s team met with BioMagnetics, they envisioned a state-of-the-art 12,500-square-foot facility encompassing a validated cleanroom, laboratory, and office operations. DiPaolo emphasized, “The cleanroom areas have unidirectional personnel flows with pressurized cascading airlocks to ensure protection against cross contamination from room to room. There are support utility systems for purified water, steam, chilled water, air handler, emergency power, process vacuum, and compressed air.”
Thanks to PROTECS’ Leveraged Design-Build™ project delivery methodology, DiPaolo’s team custom-designed and pre-purchased long-lead equipment to precisely match the needs and budget of BMS. This approach guaranteed that the project would meet performance and conformance requirements, be delivered on time, and stay within cost objectives. DiPaolo stressed, “The key is early involvement and alignment with C-suite leadership, investors, and key scientists, to bring the vision to reality.”
At PROTECS, fostering meaningful relationships is paramount. DiPaolo explained, “We do jobs as small as $100,000 and as big as $130 million because we believe that the $100,000 clients can become the $130 million clients. That’s what drives us. Anyone can build for companies with boundless funding, but when you have to build a high-functioning facility with a limited budget, that’s a real skill. We’re enabling a lot of people to reach their goals and bring essential products to market.”
The impact of this cutting-edge facility stretches far beyond its walls as it hopes to be a magnet for talent and collaboration from neighboring Penn State. The college’s expertise spans biomedical, materials science, bioengineering, biologics, and chemical engineering, which BioMagnetics hope to leverage by presenting attractive career paths into the bioprocessing and cell and gene therapy fields. Now, with the advent of the first cGMP magnetic cell selection facility in Innovation Park, the stage is set for even more biotech and bioprocessing companies to establish their presence and flourish.
“It’s a great place for it,” remarked Liberti in an article for HappyValleyIndustry.com. “We are among a group of world-class companies playing on the world stage. There is a lot of dialogue and interface between academic teams and industry. Happy Valley can be a strong player and center of excellence for the growing biotech and bioprocessing industry. We can be an industry-leading force.”
With strong collaboration between academic teams and industry, BioMagnetic Solutions is poised to usher in the growth of a leading center of excellence for the biotech and bioprocessing sector in Happy Valley, PA. It has the potential to lead the industry, and PROTECS is poised to be there with them at the forefront of this transformation.
