Cedar Brook is pleased to welcome the following five new tenants to Cedar Brook Corporate Center and Eastpark @ 8A. In addition, we are pleased that three existing tenants have decided to expand their facilities.
Generators are used in laboratories in the event of a loss of power to the space. They protect expensive research, drug development or science experiments which could be lost or damaged if there is an outage which interrupts the systems that maintain temperature and air flow conditions.
Deciding on the right equipment for your lab space or new project can be a lengthy and complicated process. It requires you to carefully scrutinize your budget, time constraints and current contracts. While the vast majority of laboratories still invest in lab equipment outright, there is an increasing trend towards leasing as well.
Whether you elect to lease or buy, it’s important to know the benefits and the downsides. This will enable you to make an informed decision and make your project and workflow a success.
The following is a Q&A with Pankaj Mohan, Founder and CEO of Oncobiologics (7 Clarke Drive, Cranbury, NJ).
Oncobiologics is focused on being an efficient and rapid development engine for complex biosimilars. If you are not familiar with biosimilars, the best analogy is generic drugs. Once a medication loses its patent protection, other companies are able to manufacture and market that drug. With biotech drugs, similar rules apply, but the process of “copying” a drug is far more complex. With traditional drugs, it is possible to exactly replicate the chemical processes used in making the drug, which results in an identical copy. However, biotech drugs are produced by living cells, and the drugs themselves are much more complex.
For a comparison, a small molecule drug like aspirin is comprised of 21 atoms. A typical antibody that we are working on is made up of 25,000 atoms. Another analogy we use is comparing our drug to a modern business jet, vs. a traditional drug that has the relative complexity of a bicycle. Because of all these factors, biosimilars cannot be made to be identical to the original medication, but instead must be proven to be comparable. The science of proving this comparability is in itself enormously complex.
We currently have 11 biosimilar candidates in our pipeline, and these are worth more than $100 million in global revenue. (more…)
The latest science & biotech headlines from the first quarter of 2015, summarized for Cedar Brook tenants and leaders in the industry.
Mar 31, 2015 – Automating Real-time PCR? Five questions to guide the process.
With the increasing importance of generating large-scale data to drive new pharmaceutical and biotech discoveries, many scientists are feeling pressure to speed up data collection. One increasingly popular strategy that’s helping labs meet this challenge is implementing a robotic PCR workflow.
http://www.genengnews.com/insight-and-intelligence/automating-real-time-pcr/77900417/
Mar 31, 2015 – Researchers create ‘Wikipedia’ for neurons.
(Nanowerk News) The decades worth of data that has been collected about the billions of neurons in the brain is astounding. To help scientists make sense of this “brain big data,” researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have used data mining to create http://www.neuroelectro.org, a publicly available website that acts like Wikipedia, indexing physiological information about neurons.
When a scientist leaves a big pharma company and ventures out on their own, they may want to establish their own cGMP facility to produce products for sale in both domestic and foreign markets. Following are the recommended steps to establishing a validated cGMP facility.
1. Conduct a risk assessment (FMEA – failure, mode, effect, analysis) on the proposed location. Some factors that may affect the building selection include limits on roof loads or power available for the building. Site restrictions can include capacity of utilities, and proper zoning.
Leasing the right lab space has a direct impact on the success of your business and it is not as simple as renting other commercial space since there are special requirements that lab activities entail.
Take a look at the six common mistakes in leasing laboratory space that you should avoid:
Let us help you focus on the things that really matter. Even within the complexities of the science, innovation and technology sectors, choosing the right space does not need to be an overwhelming process. This article aims to help minimize any confusion. We want to help you to make the right decision on your next venture quickly and painlessly. Listed below is a glossary of leasing terms you’re likely to come across when searching for the right facilities. In addition, should there be a term that is not in the list that you would like explaining, please contact us so we can define it for you. (more…)
Several years of experience have demonstrated the following best approach to designing and building new lab space for all types of tenants – from small biotech firms to international life science companies. Below are 7 top tips for those either looking to expand their lab space or those simply starting from scratch.
1. Select the right architect and team of experts. Most importantly, select a team of experts to avoid costly mistakes and efficient use of your company’s dollars. The first step in moving forward once the location is established is creating a design based on what the ultimate use of the space will be. Once a design and budget are created it is critical to have the project reviewed for value engineering. There are a variety of differing standards which when applied to a final design can dramatically affect the final price and achieve the same result. (more…)
Latest science & biotech headlines summarized for Cedar Brook tenants and leaders in the industry. Topics of interest include drug trial regulation, anticipated amendments to FDA legislation, immigration plans that may affect the industry and more. Read the summary of our top picks for what might affect you directly as an entity that rents or owns laboratory facilities.
Should The FDA Force Drug Makers To Discuss Their Clinical Trials? (Dec 1st)
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a recent article calling for mandatory submission of drug trial designs by biopharmaceutical companies to the FDA for approval. Currently any company can submit a request, known as a special protocol assessment (SPA), to the FDA to receive feedback on their trial design, however it is not mandatory for drug testing. (more…)
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