Medicago, a company that produces vaccines for virus-like particles, developed a more efficient process to eliminate eggs from their vaccines primarily for the pandemic influenza vaccine as a means to aid those egg allergy consumers. To provide those consumers with greater access to vaccines, Medicago sought to design a space in the world-renowned Research Triangle Park area located in Durham, NC. This space would meet the manufacturing needs identified by Medicago.
The design and creation of the space involved a partnership between a subsidiary of the Department of Defense, Medicago, BE&K, and Clark Nexsen. This collaborative partnership designed the space with the flexibility of vaccine production and distribution in mind, and created a flow conducive to operating the facility. The space was designed to include germination space, sterilization rooms, incubation/harvesting stations, several laboratories, a BSL-2 cleanroom space, along with office, storage, process, production, and mechanical spaces. The innovative manufacturing facility was designed with flexibility to accommodate future technology, growth, and new experiments specific to Medicago.
During the design and construction phases, Clark Nexsen planned and organized an automation process which allowed equipment, and materials to enter the greenhouse space in a systematic, and organized manner. The collaborative nature of the team was imperative to Medicago throughout this process. The team expedited construction by sending out separate early packages for site, structural foundations, and structural steel. The accelerated schedule challenges were fulfilled with the implementation of scope changes required by government agencies.