QC Lab Expansion

The road to lab expansion – The desire to modernize and expand the QC labs, located in the B and C buildings, dates back at least a decade ago. The labs, acquired in 1985, were too small and not suitable for the new functionalities and business growth. In 2020, a team of design and construction experts started drawing up the Basis of Design (BOD). Based on many sessions with the end users, the requirements for the new labs were defined and converted into the basis of the design. Based on this BOD a capital request was submitted and since another request for a new building was submitted at the same time, we had enough momentum to get approval; The Office Consolidation and Lab Expansion project was born on February 19, 2021. The first pole for the building was driven into the ground on October 27, 2021.

Corona pandemic – While we were working on the BOD, the world was confronted with the corona pandemic. J&J stepped in to develop and produce a vaccine, so to test the vaccine, the need for additional laboratory space became much more urgent. To meet this urgent need the Delta building was acquired in December 2020 and only 6 months later, with a complete renovation of the building, the first method transfers were performed. The official inauguration of the lab was done by the Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge on the 4^th of November 2021.

Lentivirus for CAR-T ​​​​​​​– By May 2022 the pandemic was under control and the need for our COVID19 vaccine was declining. As business in the pharmaceutical industry usually goes, a new opportunity had already presented itself: the production of Lentivirus for CAR-T. The Delta building lab, which was no longer in use for vaccine testing, could be used for Lentivirus testing during the startup phase but with the growing demand for Lentivirus more MLII lab space was needed. After a quick review of the opportunities the Gaubius (aka J) building with three available floors was selected for another lab expansion.

The Sassenheim expansion and subsequent Pollux CAR approval marked the start for a new lab expansion project where the Lentivirus testing in Delta Building would be transferred to newer and bigger labs in the Gaubius building. Officially, the J-Building has been in use since October 2024.

R-building – Meanwhile the construction of the R-building was progressing despite the pandemic's challenging restrictions. We reached ‘Pannebier’, which marks the reaching of the highest point, on July 22, 2022. The official opening of the R-building was done by the Minister of Economics and Climate Micky Adriaansens on June 9, 2024.

Redesign of the BC-building – Currently new analytical equipment is installed and qualified which enables the phased transfer of QC test activities from the BC- to the R-building. The method transfers for the Chemical & Physical testing team are completed and for Separations team will be completed soon.

The full transfer is expected to be finished by the end of 2025. This enables the start of the redesign of the BC-building in 2025 for the AD and QC teams that stay in the BC-building. This will finalize the lab expansion... for now.