Ceres Nanosciences (Ceres), a privately held company that makes innovative products to improve diagnostic testing, completed the build-out of a new 12,000-square-foot Advanced Particle Manufacturing Plant in Innovation Park, Manassas.
Over the next three years, the project will create up to 50 new jobs in the engineering, advanced manufacturing, and materials sciences fields, and it will establish a critical supply of testing reagents to support the current COVID-19 pandemic and ensure readiness for future pandemics.
“As the first graduate of the Prince William Science Accelerator in 2018, Ceres continues to expand and bring highly skilled jobs to Innovation Park,” said Ann B. Wheeler, chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. “We are a prime destination for inventors and innovators in the life sciences sector and we are thrilled to see companies like Ceres thrive in our bioscience hub.”
The Prince William County Department of Economic Development worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to secure the project for Virginia and will support Ceres’ job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP). As a business incentive supporting economic development, VJIP reduces the human resource costs of new and expanding companies. VJIP is state-funded, demonstrating Virginia’s commitment to enhancing job opportunities for citizens.
“Ceres chose to expand in Virginia because of the Commonwealth’s commitment to support the life sciences industry and provide valuable incentives to small businesses throughout every stage of their growth cycle,” said Ross Dunlap, CEO of Ceres. “Virginia has a deep well of scientific talent and resources that are critical for success in the biotech and life sciences industry.”
In September 2020, Ceres was awarded a $6.57 million contract from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADxSM) initiative. The RADx initiative was launched by NIH to speed innovation in the development, commercialization, and implementation of technologies for COVID-19 testing. Ceres’ Nanotrap® Magnetic Virus Particles improve diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 by eliminating the need for RNA extraction kits, reducing sample processing time, and improving the sensitivity of the downstream assays in point-of-care systems and in high-throughput laboratory developed tests.
Website: https://www.ceresnano.com
Advanced Particle Manufacturing Plant located at 9501 Discovery Blvd., Suite 145 Manassas, VA 20109
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