The National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing Satellite Campus (NCTM2) at Pegasus Park in Dallas will be an epicenter for research and workforce development for the biomanufacturing industry.
The center will be in Bridge Labs, which is part of the Pegasus Park ecosystem that houses other significant players in the North Texas region, including the 37,000-square-foot BioLabs incubator building and the newly launched ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub, located in the 18-story Pegasus Park office tower. The location of the NCTM2 will also spark collaborations with neighboring academic institutions and universities.
Bridge Labs is a two-story 135,000-square-foot facility of laboratory and office space designed to accommodate both young and established biotech-related companies. NCTM2 will occupy 5,003 square feet of space in the Bridge Labs building.
“This center will not only serve as a hub for cutting-edge research and workforce development for the biomedical industry in North Texas but also as a beacon of innovation and collaboration," said Dr. Robert Bishop, director of TEES and vice chancellor and dean of Texas A&M Engineering. "Together, we will cultivate a skilled workforce and drive advancements that address some of the most pressing health challenges of our time. The future of biomanufacturing in North Texas is bright, and we are excited to be at the forefront of this transformative journey."
Additionally, the University of Texas at Arlington’s (UTA) Institute of Biomanufacturing and Precision Medicine (IMPRINT) will be partnering with Texas A&M’s Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) to operate the NCTM2. With financial support from UTA, the partnership will both expand UTA’s biomanufacturing capabilities and give NCTM2 access to UTA’s extensive network of industry partners in the North Texas ecosystem.
This center will not only serve as a hub for cutting-edge research and workforce development for the biomedical industry in North Texas but also as a beacon of innovation and collaboration.
“At UT Arlington, we have been strategically growing our academic programs to ensure we are providing the talent to support the incredible growth in biomanufacturing in North Texas,” said Dr. Jon Weidanz, senior associate vice president of research and innovation at UTA and founding director of IMPRINT. “We know this new partnership with NCTM2 will not only help prepare a talented workforce, but will also allow our researchers to develop, scale and commercialize production of new bioproducts to help solve some of society’s biggest health issues.”
An extension of the NCTM site in College Station, the center will offer customizable, hands-on trainings to expose students and industry partners to topics such as cell culture, fermentation, purification, formulation, aseptic processing, and quality control.
“The growing bioeconomy is vitally important to the United States,” said Baley Reeves, Director of the NCTM. “Ensuring we have domestic production capabilities to provide a robust supply of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, biofuels, and other critical specialty chemicals and commodities is of utmost importance to national security and the US economy. There is a need for skilled workers to support this field, and NCTM is poised to continue to serve the nation by providing a trained workforce to support domestic biomanufacturing capabilities.”
The NCTM2 will expand the center’s capabilities and geographic service areas to reach additional students and faculty in the North Texas area. The center will offer state-of-the-art equipment, allowing students to receive hands-on training programs while enabling industry partners to utilize a simulated current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) training facility. In addition, the facility will be equipped with biomanufacturing equipment to support academia and startup companies to translate their research discoveries into potential commercial products.
The center was made possible in part due to a gift from Lyda Hill Philanthropies, which recognizes the importance of workforce development in building a comprehensive ecosystem within the bio tech industry.
“We look forward to joining the great ecosystem they are spearheading to grow the biomanufacturing industry in North Texas,” said Reeves. “The new center will support the TEES presence in North Texas while complementing, supporting and enabling research already underway at Texas A&M University Fort Worth, the University of Texas at Arlington, UT Southwestern Medical Center, and other North Texas institutions.”
The center is projected to open in the fall of 2025.