Flexible design for hands-on biotech training

The Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Center (BioTC) is Oklahoma’s first dedicated facility for biotechnology workforce development. Designed to bridge the skills gap in the growing research and biomanufacturing industry in Oklahoma City, BioTC provides hands-on, short-term training programs tailored to students and local biotech manufacturers. Located within the OKC Innovation District’s Innovation Hall at Convergence Center, the facility aligns with industry needs by offering real-world training environments.

BioTC is a flagship initiative under the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster (OBIC), funded by a $35 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

The center aims to establish Oklahoma City as a national biomanufacturing hub by developing a highly skilled workforce to support industry growth. It also fosters collaboration among academia, the life sciences industry, and government, driving innovation and strengthening the region’s biotech ecosystem.

Designed for a Flexible Teaching Environment

CRB partnered with OKCID to design a GMP-compliant facility that replicates a commercial biomanufacturing setting. To align with the client’s vision, the design prioritizes flexibility, collaboration, efficiency, and regulatory compliance.

BioTC’s design emphasizes adaptability to support a variety of training needs. Moveable glass walls create an open, collaborative environment that can be reconfigured for specific training sessions. Modular equipment layouts, including casework on wheels and ceiling-mounted utility drops, enable quick reorganization as training needs evolve. The upstream and downstream spaces can function as a single, open ballroom or be divided using the glass partition to support distinct learning modules. The modular lab layout allows benches and workstations to be rotated, maximizing operational flexibility and space utilization.

Specialized Training Spaces

BioTC’s BSL-2 lab includes a range of specialized spaces that support comprehensive biomanufacturing training:

• Gowning Areas: Dedicated spaces for pre-gown and final gowning allowing personnel to transition into simulated cleanroom environments.
• Upstream Lab: Designed for cell culture and GMP training, with controlled environments for open manipulations.
• Downstream Lab: Equipped for chromatography, viral inactivation, filtration, and formulation training.
• Quality Control & Analytical Lab: Focused on process analytics and environmental monitoring, featuring automation for routine pipetting activities.
• Advanced Development & Process Development (AD/PD) Spaces: Supports scale-up processes, buffer/media preparation, and process optimization.
• Support Spaces: Includes storage, seating areas for collaboration, and waste management. In addition, professional large format 86” all-in-one interactive 4K smart screen panel displays are in the lab areas for instant course delivery.

Process & Training Workflow

BioTC’s training programs immerse participants in end-to-end biomanufacturing workflows, ensuring trainees gain practical experience with industry-standard processes. CRB’s process team worked closely with the client to develop upstream and downstream training spaces that mirror real production environments.

Key Process Stages Featured in the Facility:

• Cell Culture & Expansion:

  • Training begins with frozen cell vials sourced from external storage.
  • Cells are thawed and transferred to shaker flasks for initial growth.
  • Cultures can be expanded into progressively larger bioreactors, with scaling from 5L benchtop vessels to 50L single-use pilot-scale bioreactors.
  • Once the cell culture is ready, they move to the downstream lab area of the facility.

• Downstream Processing:

  • In this part of the training, the cell culture is harvested, and viral inactivation and filtration steps remove impurities.
  • Depending on material volume, benchtop and pilot-scale chromatography systems are utilized to perform separation and purification steps on the material.
  • Tangential Flow Filtration (TFF) is used for final concentration before formulation and pH adjustments.

• Quality Control Lab:

• • The product is moved into the lab space to undergo extensive testing. Capabilities include technologies to provide full release testing panel of assays for therapeutic proteins/monoclonal antibodies.

An Emerging Biotech Hub for Oklahoma City

Through this initiative, BioTC is set to transform biomanufacturing education and workforce development, reinforcing Oklahoma City’s role in the evolving biotech landscape. CRB’s expertise in facility design played a pivotal role in creating a dynamic, future-ready training environment that meets the needs of the city, students and industry stakeholders.