Nanotherapeutics, Inc. today announced that a groundbreaking ceremony for its Advanced Development and Manufacturing Center (NANO-ADM) in Copeland Park, Alachua, FL, will be held this morning at 9:00am ET.
The event will be hosted by Tim Giuliani, President of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce. Featured speakers will include Governor Rick Scott, The Honorable Gib Coerper, Mayor of the City of Alachua, and James Talton, Ph.D., Co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nanotherapeutics.
The ceremony celebrates the groundbreaking of the 30-acre NANO-ADM Center, being constructed through privately secured financing to fulfill the contract awarded to Nanotherapeutics by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) earlier this year. Nanotherapeutics, as the prime contractor for the contract, is responsible for ensuring that all the core services necessary to establish a Medical Countermeasures Advanced Development and Manufacturing (MCM ADM) capability are provided to the DOD. The goal of the contract is to enable faster and more effective development of medical countermeasures designed to protect and treat military populations against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks and outbreaks of naturally occurring, emerging and genetically engineered infectious diseases.
Nanotherapeutics and its network of 16 world-class teaming partners and collaborators for this project are currently able to furnish core services in response to the DOD’s requirements, should the need arise. As the leader of the NANO-ADM Center, Nanotherapeutics will facilitate MCM product development and domestic vaccine manufacturing and surge capacity both in-house and through its teaming network. Upon completion of the NANO-ADM Center, the DOD and other third parties will have access to a state-of-the-art, ground-up development incorporating single-use equipment in a one-of-a-kind, 165,000 square-foot facility. The NANO-ADM Center will integrate new biomanufacturing technologies with existing capabilities, enabling the development of both small molecule and biologic products. The Center will include space for vector development, quality control, a development pilot plant, manufacturing core, warehouse, as well as office/administration and utilities. The aim of the Center is to provide streamlined, yet flexible, advanced development capabilities designed to reduce risks associated with cost and schedule, while protecting client intellectual property. Over time, the NANO-ADM Center will also offer its services and capabilities in MCM and infectious disease manufacturing to broader customer bases, including other U.S. federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as industry.
The award-winning firm of RS&H, ranked among the nation’s top 50 architectural and top 100 engineering design companies, has been retained as architect for the project. The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, selected for construction of the Center, has been ranked as the 3rd largest Domestic General Builder by Engineering News Record and the 5th largest Science + Technology Contractor by Building Design + Construction, and has been building in the State of Florida for more than 40 years.
Construction of the NANO-ADM Center is scheduled for completion in early 2015, with occupancy expected by mid-March 2015. Development of the NANO-ADM Center is expected to create an additional 95 high-quality jobs, bringing to 150 the total number of Nanotherapeutics’ employees working in Alachua, and providing Nanotherapeutics with a total of approximately 200,000 square feet of development, manufacturing and office space in Alachua county.