AstraZeneca seeks >7,000-sq.-ft. perfusion addition for cancer biologics work at Research Court campus

Sherry Kelly introduced an AstraZeneca application for a perfusion addition on the company’s Research Court campus. The addition, to sit between two existing buildings (633 and 636 Research Court), was described by the applicant as slightly over 7,000 square feet and largely internal to the campus, bounded by three highways and surrounded by other commercial buildings.

Erin Pratt, construction manager with DPR Construction, described the addition’s function and lab fit-out. Pratt said the project includes roughly 5,000 square feet of cell-culture and media-preparation space with back-of-house technical support areas, bioreactors and associated process equipment that will enable faster perfusion production cycles. Pratt characterized the perfusion process as allowing faster turnaround for protein vials used in cancer treatments and said the proposed facility would reduce typical perfusion timelines; she cited a planned 4.5-day perfusion run compared with longer standard cycles.

Pratt described work on utilities and site infrastructure: encasing sewer in concrete, relocating a storm line, demoing and relocating some electric and internal fiber lines, installing a new rooftop electrical feeder with an 800-amp panel, and relocating an 8-inch Washington Gas line that was moved two years earlier. She said the addition will not create new regular employees and will have minimal community impacts because it is tucked between existing buildings.

City staff concluded the plan completed the first round of review and will proceed through technical review and permitting; no public comments on the item were recorded during the meeting.