Inside Building 33: A Look Behind the Doors of the New $186 Million NIH Biodefense Lab in Maryland

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting national medical research. A division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in turn, the NIH is compromised of numerous individual research institutes. The second largest of these is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), an essential component of the nation's biomedical research program. The NIAID conducts and supports research to understand, treat, and ultimately prevent a variety of infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases that threaten the lives of people across the globe. In support of its ongoing effort to not only maintain, but also expand the necessary research required to combat these threats, the NIAID recently completed construction of Building 33, a Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

Building 33 is one of a number of Bio-containment/Lab projects ongoing in North America. Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the breakdown of project spending by market region.

The building’s formal name is the C.W. Bill Young Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases The recent ribbon-cutting ceremony for the building honored its namesake, Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-FL), for his support of biomedical research at NIH throughout his three-decade congressional career. Rep. Young is Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

When first proposed to the public several years ago (see: Pharmaceutical Tracker - Online Database), the construction plans for Building 33 met with stiff opposition from a considerable number of local residents. Along with the fear that construction of the integrated research facility would serve as a prime target for terrorists, there were worries over the possibilities of an accidental release of deadly pathogens. Ultimately, the project could not be blocked, because of its federal status it was exempt from local zoning controls. In a conciliatory gesture, the NIH allowed local planners to review the proposal and recommend changes prior to construction in the fall of 2004. Residents were assured that that the NIAID was committed to minimizing any potential risks to both employees of the lab and the surrounding community.

For Building 33, the NIAID assembled an experienced team of architects, developers and engineers, all skilled in the intricate planning and detailed design that encompasses the construction of a BSL-3 lab of this magnitude. The impressive group included architects CUH2a (Atlanta, Georgia), developer Spaulding & Slye Colliers International (Boston, Massachusetts) and construction manager Whiting-Turner (Baltimore, Maryland). The ultimate goal was to allow top-level research to be conducted in the safest possible manner.

Under federal guidelines, all facilities handling potentially infectious agents must adhere to strict procedures to insure containment of dangerous pathogens. Depending on the ease with which microorganisms can be transmitted, they are classified as Biosafety (BSL) 1, BSL-2, BSL-3 or BSL-4, with BSL-4 carrying the highest risk of infection from the most dangerous of these "germs." BSL-1 offers protection against those pathogens that are thought incapable of causing disease in healthy adults, while those found at BSL-4 level include substances such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, something for which there are no effective drugs or vaccines-a virtual death sentence for those infected.

The inherent design of a BSL-3 laboratory prevents scientists and the environment from being exposed to deadly microorganisms. BSL-3 laboratories have several safeguards to ensure that infectious agents are properly contained or destroyed. These measures include maintaining the BSL-3 laboratory suites at negative air pressure relative to the surrounding rooms so that all the airflow is directed into the suites and never out into the surrounding rooms, microfiltration of air, air-lock buffer zones and long-time, high-temperature decontamination of all materials produced in the facility.

The proposed research projects for the BSL-3 labs within the Center include expanding and consolidating the following existing NIAID research programs:

• Respiratory viruses such as influenza and avian influenza viruses

• Respiratory bacteria such as multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and anthrax bacteria

• Insect-borne viruses such as West Nile and dengue viruses

• Immunology of infectious diseases

• Development of vaccines for infectious diseases

Groundbreaking for the Center occurred in November 2003, and construction was completed in December 2005. Since that time, the facility has been undergoing rigorous testing that is required before the facility can be commissioned. The facility is expected to be fully commissioned sometime this summer.

View Plant Profile - 1061839
View Project Report - 26000817

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a Marketing Information Service company that has been doing business for over 23 years. IIR is respected as the leader in providing comprehensive market intelligence pertaining to the industrial processing, heavy manufacturing, and energy-related industries throughout the world.