The North Campus Research Complex
Building Interdisciplinary Innovation
When executives at Pfizer announced in 2007 the closing of the pharmaceutical company’s research facility in Ann Arbor, it was a major blow to a state that already was feeling the effects of a weakened economy. To many, the 30 vacant buildings in northeast Ann Arbor were a symbol of Michigan’s grim economic future.
But when U-M officials looked at those buildings and surrounding land, they saw an opportunity to expand and transform the University’s research enterprise. So, in June 2009, the U-M bought the former Pfizer facility for $108 million, far less than the cost of new construction and without lengthy construction time. The purchase added 173.5 acres of land and 1.97 million gross square feet of much-needed high-tech laboratory and office space to the U-M’s North Campus.
Expanding research activity means hiring more scientists, all of whom need offices, laboratories, advanced computer technology, support staff and specialized equipment to get the job done. A shortage of quality lab space had been limiting the U-M’s ability to recruit and retain the best scientists.
Access to laboratories in the former Pfizer facility — now called the North Campus Research Complex — will increase the U-M’s potential research capacity by 10 percent. More importantly, it will give University researchers the opportunity to work together in an environment specifically designed from the ground up to foster collaboration, innovation and rapid translation of discoveries from the lab to the marketplace and clinic.
It was at the request of U-M President Mary Sue Coleman that Medical School Dean James Woolliscroft, M.D., coordinated a University-wide conversation with faculty and staff to explore ideas on how the NCRC should be utilized to accelerate the pace of scientific research at the University of Michigan. Coming out of that early planning was the concept of building an interdisciplinary innovation campus. U-M Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, M.D., is currently the University lead on the project.
Scientists who develop cutting-edge technologies will locate at the NCRC. Key support services will be shared by all investigators, and incentives to promote collaboration and translation are being explored. Research support staff units will begin moving into the facility this spring. Shuttle services will transport faculty and staff between U-M campuses.
Visit www.umresearchgrowth.org for additional information on the NCRC.
—Compiled by Sally Pobojewski
Interesting Facts About the NCRC
U-M is the fifth-largest research university in the United States, with research spending exceeding $1 billion in fiscal year 2008-09.
The NCRC site has been home to three pharmaceutical firms beginning with Parke-Davis in 1959. Warner-Lambert acquired Parke-Davis in 1970, but kept its research operation in Ann Arbor. Pfizer purchased Warner-Lambert in 2000 and significantly grew the Ann Arbor R&D campus before closing the facility in 2008.
Researchers from several U-M schools and colleges will work together in flexible research clusters at NCRC to collaborate on a given problem. Initial research technology culsters will focus on biointerfaces and imaging.
To encourage the rapid commercialization of research discoveries, NCRC will provide incubator space for U-M start-up companies or new university-industry research partnerships.
A good manufacturing practices (GMP) facility on site provides the U-M with an opportunity to partner in novel ways with entities that need manufacturing capacity — and could lead to expanded options for faculty interested in drug development.