BD’s life sciences footprint is about to get quite a bit bigger—220,000 square feet bigger, to be exact.
The medtech giant has signed a lease for a new research and development facility in San Diego, where its BD Biosciences business has long had a presence. The new real estate acquisition will serve as an expanded reagent innovation center for the segment, which develops tools and reagents for flow cytometry, single-cell multiomics, immuno-oncology and, recently, COVID-19 research.
The facility, located on the Torrey View campus from life sciences-focused real estate development company Breakthrough Properties, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023.
“Our new facility in San Diego will aid in elevating our research, development and operations capabilities and position BD for exciting growth. BD Biosciences is a cornerstone of BD’s purpose to advance the world of health, providing researchers with innovative tools that drive a deeper understanding of the immune system and unlock its unique power to fight disease,” Puneet Sarin, worldwide president for BD Biosciences, said in a statement.
RELATED: BD inks BARDA contract to develop COVID tests for the long future of the pandemic
BD Biosciences’ home base at Torrey View will be housed in the largest of the three R&D buildings planned for the 10-acre campus, occupying nearly half of the property’s total available space. BD is so far the first life sciences powerhouse to sign a significant prelease for the property.
The additional 220,000 square feet will give BD plenty of space to build on its existing presence in San Diego, where more than 4,000 of its workers are already located, according to Steve Conly, vice president and general manager of BD Biosciences Research Solutions. The property is located in the Del Mar Heights neighborhood of San Diego, close to workforce housing for the many biopharma companies clustered in the area.
“The location was selected after careful review of a number of alternatives and is a testament to our commitment to hiring and developing members of the San Diego community,” Conly said in a statement.
In addition to the trio of R&D facilities, Torrey View will offer a variety of amenities for its tenants. These include indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, dining areas, a fitness center, pickleball courts and on-site parking. The campus is also designed to be eco-friendly, with LEED efficiency certifications for the buildings and landscaping featuring drought-tolerant native plants along with plenty of open green spaces and gardens.
Plus, as with Breakthrough Properties’ other campuses, BD and its fellow tenants within Torrey View’s “life sciences ecosystem” will be able to collaborate with each other and access Breakthrough’s scientific advisory board of experts in the space.
RELATED: BD locks down FDA approval for automated molecular diagnostics platform, with initial test for HPV
The San Diego expansion is BD’s second real estate grab this month alone. Just last week, the company broke ground on a new facility in Zaragoza, Spain, where it will manufacture prefillable syringes and other drug delivery devices. The 86,000-square-foot site is expected to be completed in late 2023 and set BD back 165 million euros.