Regents approve new College of Pharmacy building

A rendering of the planned College of Pharmacy and Center for Drug Discovery building.

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents Friday approved the program statement and budget for construction of a new College of Pharmacy and Center for Drug Discovery building.

The $35 million project is expected to begin construction in February 2014, with projected completion set for July 2015. It will be paid for by private donations with no state funds used.

“Today the College of Pharmacy is recognized as one of the outstanding institutions for pharmacy education and research,” said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. “This state-of-the-art facility will allow our medical center to take yet another step toward achieving world-class status.”

The planned College of Pharmacy and Center for Drug Discovery project will completely replace and expand the now outdated education space of the College of Pharmacy and increase its research capacity by constructing a new three- or four-level, 85,000-square-foot building.

The project will:

• Provide contemporary education space, equipped with the advanced technology needed to deliver pharmacy education and active learning in the 21st century;
  
• Provide laboratory and research support space designed to accommodate the specific technical needs of pharmaceutical research in three areas: drug discovery and development, drug delivery, and clinical and translational research; and
  
• Meet Nebraska’s need for pharmacy graduates who are well prepared for an expanding and evolving role as health care providers.

Patient care simulation and instructional space will emphasize the increasing role of pharmacists in providing primary health care by incorporating a contemporary model pharmacy, a sterile compounding room and practice areas for patient assessment and point of care testing.

Research activities conducted in the integrated Center for Drug Discovery will be especially focused on infectious diseases. “No other academic medical center in the U.S. has a drug discovery program with a similar focus,” Dr. Maurer said.

“This building will be a home for excellence in pharmacy education and innovation in drug discovery and development,” said Courtney Fletcher, Pharm.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy.

The new building will be built east of the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education along Emile Street. It will open during the 100th year anniversary of the founding of the College of Pharmacy at UNMC.