The approval of Question 4 on the state ballot Tuesday means The Jackson Laboratory can move ahead with plans to build a $21 million biometric analysis lab on its Bar Harbor campus.

The measure allocates a $10 million state bond for the project, which will be matched by funds provided by Jackson Lab.

While Jackson Lab still needs to apply for the funds because it’s a competitive award, it’s the only organization in Maine with the expertise and financial capacity to take on the project.

The new lab will give Maine the chance to “get ahead of the entire research world,” said Mike Hyde, Jackson Lab’s vice president of external affairs. The research facility will measure cellular-level changes induced by genetic mutation, research for which there is a growing global demand, he said.

The lab will serve as the centerpiece of the company’s five-year plan in which its workforce in Maine will grow from 1,300 to 1,500. Construction will begin next year and be completed 18 months later, Hyde said.

The Center for Biometric Analysis, a four-story, 16,000-square-foot building, will have high-powered measurement and imaging devices that will allow scientists to detect and measure extremely subtle signs of disease at the cellular level.

This information, coupled with gene sequencing data and analysis, will help pinpoint the genetic roots of disease and speed the search for better treatments, Hyde said.

The company, which has facilities in California and Connecticut, argued that the bond money would assure that the lab would be built in Maine rather than another state.

While the lab will lack some of the features that were part of Jackson Lab’s original $26 million plan, those amenities and facilities can be added over time, Hyde said.

The Jackson Laboratory says its total impact on the Maine economy last year was $380 million and is expected to grow to $500 million by 2020.

Voters also approved Question 5, which provides $3 million to expand a biological laboratory and biotechnology workforce training facility “specializing in tissue repair and regeneration.”

As in Question 4, Question 5 does not name a specific organization, but the initiative was crafted with MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor as the intended recipient. The bond, which will leverage $5.7 million in matching funds, will be used to expand a training facility where undergraduate students learn skills for the biotechnology and biomedical fields.

 

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