28 Jul CDI ditches move to Verona
By Judy Newman, Wisconsin State Journal
Cellular Dynamics International, the stem cell company founded by UW-Madison stem cell pioneer James Thomson, is backing off on moving its headquarters to a big, new building in Verona and will stay in Madison, at least for now, as it prepares to push forward with its first potential stem cell-based treatment in early 2018.
“CDI is one of the true gems among companies powered by UW-Madison research, and we would certainly do anything we could to help them find clean room space to continue their work.” – Aaron Olver, URP Managing Director
CDI president Kaz Hirao said Thursday the company is shelving plans to shift operations to a $40 million, 133,700-square-foot building that was to be built for CDI on Kettle Moraine Trail in Verona. The building was expected to house 280 employees, with so-called “clean rooms,” quality-control labs, processing rooms and offices.
Instead, CDI’s main offices and labs will remain at 525 Science Drive in University Research Park and the company will remodel an existing building — whose site has not yet been determined — to house several clean rooms that will meet government standards for manufacturing stem cells for use in clinical drug trials. Read more …