HUNTSVILLE (October 11, 2023) – HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology opened a new global headquarters earlier today on its campus. The 93,000-square-foot building will be home to the Discovery Life Sciences’ (Discovery) global headquarters. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey led the ribbon cutting ceremony.
“Discovery has continued to grow in Alabama and make an impact throughout the world,” Ivey said. “When Discovery chose the HudsonAlpha Biotech Campus in Huntsville for its global headquarters, I knew this was a milestone moment for Alabama as we work to recruit other life science companies to the state. With innovative leadership, a talented workforce, and a state that is focused on the life sciences, good days are ahead for Discovery.”
In its new facility, Discovery will unite its products and services, guaranteeing a streamlined process from sample collection to advanced data analysis and bolstering the reliability of research and development outcomes for scientists. This integration offers end-to-end solutions, spanning drug discovery to phase 3 clinical trials. Moreover, the facility will house one of the world’s most extensive commercial biospecimen inventories. Alongside this, Discovery’s advanced suite of services — including genomics, proteomics, molecular pathology, flow cytometry, and cell biology — will now be under one roof, aiming to deliver richer data to the global scientific community.
Located at 900 Hudson Way in Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park, the Discovery building is the newest addition to the non-profit Institute’s biotech campus. The facility was funded by the State of Alabama, Madison County and the City of Huntsville. Discovery announced that it has already relocated more than 115 jobs to Huntsville since 2022 and will continue to grow in Alabama.
“This building and the people working in it highlight shared priorities for HudsonAlpha, Huntsville, Madison County and Alabama: making positive impact in the lives of others and bringing and keeping jobs in our community. That’s a key part of what we celebrate today,” said Neil Lamb, PhD, HudsonAlpha President. “This is one of the few global headquarters located in Huntsville and Alabama and we couldn’t be more proud to count them as part of the HudsonAlpha campus. It’s especially exciting since the origins of Discovery Life Sciences lead back to one of HudsonAlpha’s original associate companies in 2008.”
Discovery’s new space allows for a more collaborative culture where technology thought leaders and top scientists share ideas in the same room. The facility includes an in-house clinic for volunteer-based specimens supported by state-of-the-art biospecimen processing, cell services, molecular biology and genomic sequencing laboratories. The building also includes a one-of-its-kind central nitrogen system, freezer farms, a high-density storage system and an emergency backup power system with highly flexible utility deliveries that weave the processing together. The associated office, cafe and break areas provide for a wide variety of spaces to encourage a collaborative working environment.
“We are thrilled to open our new global headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama,” said Glenn Bilawsky, CEO of Discovery Life Sciences. “This city, county and state have embraced our commitment to healthcare research, innovation, and excellence. These state-of-the-art facilities will cement our market leadership position and enable us to accelerate the research and development of new therapies, diagnostics, and technologies by the global healthcare product industry, as well as expand our support of important academic and government-sponsored research worldwide.”
Brasfield & Gorrie served as the general contractor for the project. Fuqua & Partners designed the building.
Event photos found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/
About Discovery Life Sciences
Discovery Life Sciences is the company of Biospecimen and Biomarker Specialists. We combine a comprehensive commercial biospecimen inventory and procurement network with outstanding multi-omic biomarker service laboratories. Our offerings include genomic, tissue biomarker, proteomic, and cell-based services, accelerating the development of new therapies supported by biomarker and companion diagnostic programs for cancer, infectious disease, and other rare and complex conditions.
Through AllCells, our cell and gene therapy division, we maintain a substantial recallable donor pool, supplying Research Use Only (RUO) and clinical-grade fresh and cryopreserved human cellular materials to support cell and gene therapy programs at any phase of development and scale.
Motivated by leading scientific expertise and innovative application of current technologies, the Discovery team collaborates with customers to rapidly overcome obstacles and achieve results, aiding in making critical research and development decisions with unparalleled speed. We are Science at your Service! For more information, visit www.dls.com.
About HudsonAlpha
HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving life around the globe through discovery, education, and economic development in the genomic sciences. HudsonAlpha’s mission is to develop and apply scientific advances to health, agriculture, education and commercialization. The campus, located in Huntsville, includes nearly 50 biotech companies and consists of 152 acres located within Cummings Research Park, the second-largest research park in the nation. To learn more about HudsonAlpha, visit hudsonalpha.org.
