BioForge places final steel beam in place, Hazelwood project set to take next step

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The final beam on the BioForge project in Hazelwood went up this morning.

The University of Pittsburgh and some of the other organizations involved in the project held a ceremony to mark the milestone on Friday morning.

It's the moment no one here wanted to miss -- phones out, people gazing -- as the final piece of steel completes this framework.

"We were the city that built the world," Sam Reiman, director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, said. "Now with this new innovation, Pittsburgh can become the city that heals the world."

It's a collaboration between Pitt, ElevateBio, the Richard King Mellon Foundation – and other groups.

They plan to help make access to genetic medicine easier through biological therapeutics.

"The personalized cell and gene therapies that will emerge from and be manufactured in this facility here right behind us will have the potential to save and improve lives," Reiman said.

ElevateBio, one of the partners in this facility, will occupy two-thirds of the new building.

"We are powering the creation of cell and gene therapies with the potential to transform, or even cure – a wide range of diseases, including cancer, genetic disorders, and autoimmune conditions," Vikas Sinha, CFO of ElevateBio, said.

The frame will eventually be a finished product. BioForge's CEO has his eyes set on that potential, and what it can do.

"We not only accelerate the use but make it more equitable," Ken Gabriel, the CEO of BioForge, said.

And even though today's ceremony is a sign of progress, he's got his eyes on the future.

"As exciting as it is today, it's just the beginning of what's going to be exciting," Gabriel said.

ElevateBio said the project will create 170 permanent jobs, in addition to 900 construction jobs.