The $97 million investment will expand Thermo Fisher’s bioanalytical laboratory operations into three locations in the Greater Richmond, Virginia region.

According to Thermo Fisher Scientific, the decision to expand its clinical research business is in response to increased demand for its services.

The investment will see the firm add nearly 150,000 square feet to its Richmond area operations. The laboratories in this location were gained through the firm’s acquisition of contract research organization (CRO) PPD last year.

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The company is renovating a former Toys “R” Us store at 8700 Quioccasin Road and will occupy 2250 Dabney Road to establish two bioanalytical labs, which are located next to its existing Henrico County plant.

Additionally, Thermo Fisher will launch a third bioanalytical lab at the VA Bio+Tech Park in the city of Richmond. Across the three labs, the firm anticipates creating over 500 jobs in the Greater Richmond region.

“A number of factors went into our decision. We’ve found the local community to be very supportive of the life sciences sector in general and our company in particular, and the area is a great place for our employees to live and work,” Chris Forsdyke, vice president, Bioanalytical and Vaccine Sciences Labs, PPD Clinical Research, Thermo Fisher Scientific told us.

He continued: “From a recruiting perspective, the region offers a solid stable of talent and academic institutions that can provide the appropriate variety of PhD-level scientists, analytical laboratory staff and other scientific professionals necessary to meet the research needs of our customers. These roles are highly technical in nature, so we track the market closely to attract and retain top talent. In addition, we have received strong community support from the city of Richmond, Henrico County, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, and we enjoy being part of the community and contributing to the local economy.”

The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a workforce initiative created by Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) in collaboration with various organizations, will provide direct delivery of recruitment and training services that are specific to the company’s requirements.

The firm said it expects the locations in the VA Bio+Tech Park and at 8700 Quioccasin Road to be operational this year and plans to have 2250 Dabney Road online by the end of 2023. However, this is dependent on supply chain and/or construction issues.