Illumina Establishes First East Coast Location in University of Maryland BioPark

BALTIMORE, July 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland (UM) BioPark and Wexford Science & Technology, LLC, today announced Illumina, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of life science tools and integrated systems, as the newest tenant in the UM BioPark's 801 W. Baltimore St. building. The building is owned by Ventas, Inc., a life sciences real estate investment trust (REIT) and is part of Wexford's Knowledge Community development at the UM BioPark.

Illumina's 13,000-square-foot space in the UM BioPark will house its new Illumina Solutions Center facility, providing training lab capabilities and office space for customers and commercial teams. It will be the company's first commercial location on the East Coast and will host hundreds of employees and customers annually.

"Our team is excited for the opportunity to inhabit the UM BioPark and to build upon our strong working relationship with the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute for Genome Sciences and its Director, Claire Fraser, PhD. We believe this will facilitate collaborative engagement in research activities with our academic partner, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB)," shared Mark Van Oene, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Illumina. "We are inspired by all the ways genomics can stimulate economic activity to maximize impact in the region and fuel research with the potential to improve health outcomes for patients."

"Illumina is a great addition to Maryland's life sciences ecosystem, and I'm very pleased to welcome the company to our state," said Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly M. Schulz. "The decision to choose the UM BioPark for Illumina's first East Coast location is testament to the strong innovation cluster in Baltimore City and in Maryland. I look forward to seeing the results of this collaboration between industry, academia, and community."

"For more than a decade, the UM BioPark has been home to emerging, high-growth life sciences companies," commented Baltimore City Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young. "The addition of Illumina to that community helps reinforce Baltimore City as a place where biotech companies can grow and thrive."

Adjacent to the UMB campus, the 14-acre UM BioPark is home to over 40 companies. Wexford is currently designing its newest building in the BioPark, a 330,000-square-foot lab and office building, that is expected to be completed in 2021.

"Attracting Illumina, a premier life sciences company, to the BioPark reinforces the value of combining university research, entrepreneurial activity, corporate engagement, and community development in a dense, collaborative, programmed environment," said Jim Berens, Chief Executive Officer of Wexford Science & Technology.

About Illumina
Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as the global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical, and applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture, and other emerging segments. To learn more, visit www.illumina.com and follow @illumina.

About the UM BioPark
The UM BioPark is a biomedical research park on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). The BioPark welcomes additional life science companies to join its growing scientific community of emerging, high-growth life science tenants and UMB translational research and clinical treatment centers. For early-stage to mature bioscience companies, the BioPark offers a sophisticated laboratory and office environment on UMB's vibrant academic medical center campus. Community members are commercializing new drugs, diagnostics, and devices and advancing biomedical research. Learn more about BioPark tenants at www.umbiopark.com/tenants.

About Wexford Science & Technology
Wexford Science & Technology, LLC, provides real estate strategies and solutions exclusively to universities, academic medical centers, and research institutions. Wexford works collaboratively with its partner institutions to help create and develop vibrant, mixed-use, amenity-rich Knowledge Communities that are built on a foundation of research, discovery, and entrepreneurial activity.

Knowledge Communities operate as a nexus for leveraging academic intellectual capital, innovation, and infrastructure; concentrating talent, resources, and service providers; and enabling pathways for corporate collaboration, startup creation and growth, place-based networking, and idea exchange. www.wexfordscitech.com

SOURCE University of Maryland BioPark

Related Links

http://www.umbiopark.com