North Dakota Submits Bid for Construction of $30 Million Regional Bio-Containment Laboratory

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks has tossed its hat into the ring as a contender for one of the nation's planned eight regional biocontainment laboratories. The $30 million laboratory would be rated as a Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) facility and have the ability to handle a number of deadly human pathogens.

BSL-3 is one of four classifications for biologic research designated by the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The levels - 1 through 4 - signify the increasing level of risk individual pathogens can present to humans. Biosafety Level 1 presents no risk of infection in humans, while people infected by pathogens labeled as Biosafety Level 4 carry a high mortality rate. The UND lab would work with strains of viruses and bacteria for the development of new diagnostic tests, therapies, and vaccines.

As discussed in Industrialinfo.com's 2005 Pharmaceutical Industry Forecast, college campuses across the nation are anxious to host these labs, hoping their construction will attract commercial enterprises to locate in the area. UND has already indicated that several biotech companies have expressed interest in locating near the school if the lab is built. The top-level research conducted within BSL labs and the facility itself are invaluable to life-science companies, especially those working on the development of vaccines.

The sites chosen for the labs will be announced later this year. Construction of the lab is expected to kick off in 2006.

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