The University of Delaware has broken ground on the new $156m Biopharmaceutical Innovation Building on its STAR campus.
The new six-storey building will cover an area of 200,000sq ft. The facility will host research and development for creation of medicines with living cells. Part of the facility will accommodate the national headquarters of the National Institute of Biopharmaceutical Research.
Work is already underway on site, with the building expected to open in early 2020. Whiting-Turner will serve as construction manager for the project. The university will use debt financing to fund the project.
University of Delaware president Dennis Assanis said: "We believe the University of Delaware and the State of Delaware can become the leader in the emerging field of biopharmaceuticals - the drugs that have the potential to cure the most vexing diseases: autoimmune diseases, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, cancer and many more."
