Consortium led by Open Practice and IPS – Integrated Project Services successful contractors

Charlottetown, PE – Following the recent announcement of provincial and federal financing for the BioAccelerator, a new 75,000 sq. ft. biomanufacturing center of expertise, the contract for detailed engineering design and project management has been awarded to a consortium led by Open Practice and IPS – Integrated Project Services.

Earlier this year, the Governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island announced a $50 million investment in the BioAccelerator, the largest single investment in economic development infrastructure in PEI history. Situated in the BioCommons Research Park in Charlottetown, the BioAccelerator will be a unique multi-function facility with 75,000 sq. ft. of biomanufacturing space that will provide facilities and services to researchers, entrepreneurs, and bioscience-based companies operating along the full continuum from research and product development, process development, manufacturing scale-up, and biomanufacturing skills and training. The BioAccelerator will become a centrepiece for biomanufacturing and fermentation-based business development in Atlantic Canada and a national asset.

Following an extensive basis-of-design development stage and RFP process, five high quality proposals were received from firms and consortia across Canada. The consortium of Open Practice and IPS were the successful proponents for the design tender.

Open Practice is a design-led firm offering services in community and urban planning, feasibility studies, and sustainable architecture. IPS is a global leader in developing innovative solutions for the consulting, architecture, engineering, project controls, procurement, construction management, and commissioning, qualification and validation of technically complex facilities worldwide. Both Open Practice and IPS have employees based in PEI, working on a number of projects including bioscience engineering projects.

“We were pleased with the excellent proposals received to carry out the detailed engineering design for the BioAccelerator and are now moving forward with the next steps on this project,” said Rory Francis, CEO, PEI BioAlliance. “We are committed to keeping the momentum going as the BioAccelerator will provide essential biomanufacturing facilities and services for businesses across the region and beyond.”

Tenants in the BioAccelerator will include early-stage companies, small, and medium size enterprises from Atlantic Canada, across Canada, and from international locations. It will also include the facilities and expertise of the National Research Council of Canada’s atypical fermentation labs as well as CASTL, providing hands-on biopharmaceutical manufacturing training for the talent pipeline that will be essential to Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy. The BioAccelerator will be CASTL’s national headquarters and expanded lead training facility.

The BioAccelerator will be owned by the Charlottetown Area Development Corporation (CADC) and operated by the PEI BioAlliance. Once engineering design services are complete, the construction tender will be issued and awarded, with construction expected to be completed by fall 2025.

For more information on the BioAccelerator, visit peibioalliance.com/bioaccelerator.