Tech Valley News
Biotech Research Facility to be Built in Region
The University of Albany, New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Taconic Farms Inc. announced Thursday that a new biotech facility will be built on the UAlbany’s East Campus in East Greenbush. The $13.2 million building will be used by Taconic to develop and produce the most technologically advanced mouse models available to scientists today for use in cutting-edge biotech research into heart disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease by pharmaceutical companies, universities and governments
“This is an exciting project for the University at Albany East Campus, for Taconic Incorporated, and for the entire Tech Valley,” Bruno said. “We are making an important investment that will create new jobs and strengthen Tech Valley’s global reputation as a home to high technology and biotechnology businesses and jobs. I am proud of the development of the East Campus because it shows that positive results come from the partnership of state government, higher education and private industry. I look forward to more good news at the East Campus in the future.”
Taconic Farms Inc. – a commercial supplier of transgenic, inbred, outbred and hybrid mice and rats – is contributing $9.1 million to its construction. It was one of the first private companies to take space at the 87-acre campus and currently has 41,603 square feet of laboratory space and 100 employees at that location. There are now 15 tenants at the East Campus.
The rodents are bred in environmentally secure “isolators” that produce highly sophisticated genetic “models” of mice and rats used to target specific diseases.
The University at Albany Foundation is spending $4.1 million on the project with about $1.9 million of that amount coming directly from the state. Empire State Development Corp. gave Taconic a $175,000 grant.
The 23,000-square foot building is expected to be completed by November. The facility will employ 35 people, creating approximately 30 new jobs.
“Our newest project is a natural fit for the university, as it builds on a long and very successful history of working closely together toward the vital goal of advancing biomedical research,” Susan Herbst, provost and officer in charge of UAlbany said.
UAlbany's East Campus is home to a bioscience and high-tech community that brings together government, industry and academic researchers and technology at a single site, comprising more than 350,000 square feet of lab, support and associated office space. The site hosts more than 1,000 researchers, company employees, university faculty and students and serves a major hub for biomedical research in Tech Valley.
The University at Albany Foundation is providing $4.1 million to the project for site work and building construction, while the privately owned company is spending $9.1 million to equip the facility.
Taconic Farms was founded in 1952 and is now one of the largest laboratory rodent providers in the world with a reputation for consistently producing high quality, well-defined rats and mice. Taconic has six breeding facilities and three service laboratories in the USA and Europe, a staff of more than 800 and a commitment to technology innovation.
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