Life Sciences Business Development Roadmap
The County of Grand Forks, in conjunction with the Grand Forks Region Base Realignment Impact Committee (BRIC), is seeking proposals from qualified firms/entities to develop a Life Sciences Business Development Roadmap.
UND has conducted basic research in the life sciences for years through faculty in the School of Medicine and Biology and Chemistry departments, as well as the USDA Human Nutrition Center located on the UND campus. In recent years the University has placed a major strategic emphasis on growing the amount of basic and applied research in life sciences, and commercializing promising research. The intended benefit of this strategy is to bring more dollars to the University, better recruit and retain quality faculty, provide hands-on research opportunities for students, and grow the state and local economy through life science business development. To that end, the University of North Dakota Research Foundation (UNDRF) was formed as a private non-profit corporation to facilitate the transition of research into the marketplace.
The initial focus of UNDRF has been to secure and develop property for the purpose of creating facilities for higher level research activity and development-stage life science companies. UNDRF has entered into a long-term lease with UND for 19.5 acres of land on the west side of the campus. This property is designated the Research and Commercialization (REAC) Park. The flagship facility in the REAC Park is the Center of Excellence in Life Sciences and Advanced Technology (COELSAT), which is currently under construction. Two life science firms and UND's Center for Infectious Diseases will be initial tenants in the COELSAT. When complete, the two-story, 50,000 square foot COELSAT will be equipped with Bio-Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) and Core Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) labs, and a small animal Vivarium. In addition to these specialty labs, other labs and office space will be available to prospective tenants.
Over the coming years UNDRF will be working to raise awareness of the availability of COELSAT and local research capacity to aid companies in furthering their research and commercialization activities. Building a pipeline of prospective tenants and firms interested in locating in the REAC Park is the major priority.
