2020 FOYA Category Winner for Equipment Innovation

Roche’s New In-Vivo building marks the first time a dedicated animal research facility has received a FOYA award. The work of this facility is to, “acquire data that will lead into a new era with novel therapeutic modalities and Personalized Healthcare 2.0.” Any new pharmaceutical compound must be cleared through animal testing before testing in humans can begin. This project has significant contributions in equipment innovation to help Roche overcome that hurdle.

Although there were numerous key achievements in this project, equipment innovations can be seen throughout the facility and many can be considered industry leading including:

• A fully automated animal cage handling and cleaning process, which reduces physical burden on researchers and protects both researchers and animals.
• Glass partitions in the animal holding and study rooms were coated with a specific foil to let in light at the right brightness and wavelength for the animals, while also having the light benefit the researchers.
• The ability of the animal holding and study rooms to be quickly changed and reconfigured which provides for maximum flexibility, while not disturbing adjacent rooms and the animals they contain. This is achieved through a modular approach and the new configuration can be put in place within 2-3 weeks.
• The modular approach also allows access for visitors who can watch researchers conduct experiments.
• Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are used to automate the animal supply process and robots perform the cage cleaning. Thus, “leaving the dirty work to the machines,” and “freeing up time, hands, and minds [of the researchers] to focus on what humans do best – being creative and innovative and completing high impact tasks.”
• The project has also used “forgotten technologies” in new ways – the pneumatic tube system, best known in hospitals and banks for transporting papers, cash, and other solid objects, was employed to hasten the delivery of tissue samples and substances.

The New In-Vivo Building brings innovation to one of the lesser understood parts of the pharmaceutical discovery and development process. The equipment innovation that is found in every part of the project aims to protect researchers and animals, drive efficiency, and set new industry standards for animal research.

Supply Partners and Key Participants:

Manufacturer/Owner Name - F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Basel
General Design Contractor - Pharmaplan AG
Architect - hammeskrause
Construction Manager - S+B Baumanagement
Major Equipment Suppliers/Contractors: