A major European laboratory services company will open a new lab at the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park to provide services to the organ-transplant community by the second quarter of 2022.
Eurofins CellTx will occupy about 15,000 square feet at the UA Tech Park, on South Rita Road on the southern edge of Tucson, and plans to hire 24 lab techs and managers over five years after investing $3 million in the new facility.
Sun Corridor Inc., the Tucson region’s main economic-development agency, worked to attract Eurofins along with the Commerce Authority, Pima County, Michael Coretz of Commercial Real Estate Group of Tucson and the UA Tech Park.
Eurofins Donor Testing Services is part of Eurofins U.S. Clinical Diagnostics, a U.S. arm of Luxembourg-based Eurofins Scientific, one of the world’s biggest lab companies with 55,000 employees across a network of 900 laboratories in more than 50 countries.
CellTx will be federally registered and certified for screening human cells, tissues, and cellular- and tissue-based products to support transplant organizations from donor source to transplantable cell-based products, the company said in a joint news release with the Arizona Commerce Authority.
“Southern Arizona’s unique blend of leading-edge health care practices, a rapidly growing bioscience center of excellence, and strong local partnerships led us to establish our laboratory in Tucson,” said Kevin D. Barfield, senior vice president at Eurofins Clinical Diagnostics and president of Eurofins CellTx.
Carol Stewart, UA associate vice president for Tech Parks Arizona, said the business support offered by the tech park combined with the unique mix of office, lab and research and development space will allow Eurofins to rapidly scale up its operation.
“The versatility to customize their space to suit their needs, all while benefiting from the well-established university research park was an immediate draw for Eurofins,” Stewart said.
Based on Eurofins’ planned capital investment of $3 million over the next five years, the new facility will have a total economic impact of $14 million, the Commerce Authority said.
Sun Corridor President and CEO Joe Snell said Eurofins is prime example of the group's focus on business development in targeted industries that match the Tucson region's strengths.
“Eurofins represents another building block as we emerge as a leading biotech hub,” Snell said.
