VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley

RICHMOND, Va. – Gov. Mark Warner and public health professionals from around the country today helped to dedicate Biotech Six, the newest building of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park and the new home of one of the most advanced laboratories in the United States, the Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services.

The new $63 million, 194,500 square-foot facility will be one of five laboratories in the United States equipped with Biosafety Level 4 (BSL4) lab space specifically designed to meet worldwide standards for safely handling the most dangerous pathogens. The laboratory will handle all of Virginia’s testing needs and is part of a federal laboratory network certified by the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others.

“The new lab strengthens our public health system,” said Gov. Mark Warner.  “Advances in the life sciences offer tremendous economic opportunities, and the opening of this new facility further strengthens the Richmond area as a leader in biotechnology research.”

As the newest tenant of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, DCLS joins the Virginia Division of Forensic Science, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the United Network for Organ Sharing, along with 45 biosciences companies and research institutes affiliated with the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center.

“The DCLS is recognized nationally as one of the most comprehensive laboratories in the country and further enhances the thriving biosciences community in the Greater Richmond area,” said Robert T. Skunda, president and CEO of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park.

The laboratory conducts more than 3-million scientific tests each year on everything from fertilizers, water, air, gasoline and lottery tickets to blood samples from all infants born in Virginia as part of the Commonwealth’s newborn screening program.  In addition to the BSL4 lab space, the facility also contains BSL3 lab and training space, appropriate for working with infectious microbes, and laboratories designed to work with chemical agents of terrorism.

Speaking at the dedication event, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said the new laboratory helps to solve one of the challenges posed by the 2001 terrorism attacks -- the lack of a firm ability to move dangerous biological samples safely and quickly across the country for analysis.

“It is critically important to build the public health capacity at the local level to diagnose acute diseases and toxins,” Benjamin said.  “This new lab will strengthen Virginia’s capacity to handle local diagnoses as well as build backup surge capacity for the rest of the region.”

The Virginia consolidated laboratory was the first consolidated laboratory in the nation to offer a wide variety of scientific testing in support of state programs. ”The new laboratory is second to none in terms of its flexibility and breadth of services,” said Dr. James L. Pearson, director of the DCLS.

The dedication of Biotech Six and opening of the new DCLS coincides with the annual meeting of the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) in Richmond.  The association represents governmental laboratories whose work is to protect the public health.  APHL executive director Scott Becker, one of many APHL members attending the dedication, said that the new lab “is a national asset that strengthens our capacity to respond to bioterrorism and other threats.”

Besides the DCLS laboratory and offices, the new Biotech Six project also includes a 210-space public parking facility that will be owned and operated by the City of Richmond.

The Virginia Biotechnology Research Park is a joint initiative of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and the City of Richmond.  The Park, situated on 34 acres adjacent to VCU’s campus, has currently developed 575,000 square feet of research, laboratory, office and support space, accounting for the employment of over 1,200 people.  When fully developed, the park will contain over 1.5 million square feet of space in 18 to 20 buildings and employ 3,000 scientists, researchers, engineers and technicians.  The Virginia Biotechnology Research Park is fast gaining notoriety as the East Coast location for bioscience companies and researchers.