Lafayette, LA: Advancements in Research and Development   

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The Lafayette, LA, region is home to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL) – a Carnegie R1 research institution. In 1965, UL established what is now the nation’s largest non-human primate research center, the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC). Located about 25 miles from UL’s main campus, the NIRC attracts researchers requiring access to nonhuman primate research models to promote human health and wellness.

“The trajectory of a researcher wanting to bring a brilliant idea to the marketplace includes pre-clinical or nonclinical studies with nonhuman primates,” says Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, vice president for research, innovation and economic development at UL Lafayette. “For the past four decades, this center has become the go-to place for research of this kind and for folks from other universities in Louisiana, across the nation and the private sector.”

Several widely recognized drugs resulted from research conducted at this Lafayette, LA, area center.

“GLP-1-similar drugs, comparable to Ozempic and Mounjaro, and other drugs for diabetes, hypertension and metabolic lifestyle diseases are being researched and evaluated here,” Kolluru says. 

“During COVID-19 we moved into high gear and worked on more than a dozen simultaneous studies, because everyone was working together to solve the global issues of the pandemic,” he says.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which became the first vaccine to receive FDA approval for use in human subjects, was developed in part through research performed at the NIRC in the Lafayette, LA, region.

“Proving that it was safe and effective in animal models before it progressed to human beings for clinical trials helped bring that drug into the marketplace sooner, becoming a tool for humanity across the globe in our fight against the pandemic,” Kolluru says. “We are very proud to have been a part of that effort.” 

Building a New Research Facility in the Lafayette, LA, Area

That work led Kolluru and his team to pursue development of a Biosafety Level 3 facility.

“At that time, we had a Level 2 facility,” he says, “which meant we could test these new therapies but couldn’t actually test them against the virus itself, because a Level 3 facility is required to hold and contain samples of that virus.”

Instead, teams had to drive animals to a Level 3 facility for testing with the actual virus. 

“We realized that while we played an extraordinarily important role in the drug discovery process, we did not have at the university that piece of research infrastructure that would have helped us bring this new innovation to the marketplace three months ahead of schedule, and could have potentially saved thousands of lives,” he says.

Now, a new Level 3 facility is in the works, and it is targeted for completion by the fourth quarter of 2026. It received funding and support from Louisiana’s governor and state legislature.

“For any kind of airborne pathogen – infectious diseases like tuberculosis or influenza – you need a Level 3 facility to contain that research,” Kolluru says. “The safety of our people, our communities and our animals is key, so we are going through a very deliberate and intentional process of over engineering this facility to ensure that containment is very high. We are taking our time to do this right.”

Kolluru says this new Lafayette, LA, area research facility will be another tool in their toolkit.

“There are not many places in the country with the largest concentration of animals available for biomedical research, a Biosafety Level 3 lab and a team that has worked for four decades with the public and private sector and university partners to help them succeed in their research.” 

Creating Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Capacity

Part three of the work underway in the Lafayette, LA, region will reduce reliance on foreign entities.

“Currently, anywhere from 72%-89% of drugs that we consume in the U.S. are manufactured in foreign nations,” Kolluru says. “We’ve realized that the value-added work and the permanent jobs for manufacturing these pharmaceuticals are happening elsewhere in the nation or around the globe.” 

Now, with support from the state, work is underway to establish the Iberia BioInnovation Accelerator in Progress Point Business Park to create biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in Louisiana.

“This obviously has the benefit of diversifying our economy, which has been historically very energy-dependent,” Kolluru says. “It’s also an opportunity to diversify workforce opportunities and to reduce dependency on foreign nations, taking more control of our public health as well as our own national security imperatives.”

The new facility will include a training environment to produce the workforce needed and will actively recruit new emerging startups or spin-off companies.

“Most universities around the nation are rightly proud of their smart people and their ideas, as I am of ours,” Kolluru says. “For the past four decades our business model has been to cheer everyone’s success. So, when we recruit someone from another university to collaborate with us, we are just as excited to help them realize their ideas. One of the things we do extremely well in South Louisiana is nurture and care for them in the only way we know how. We call it ‘innovation with an accent,’ and it’s an essential part of our life.”

Kolluru has been named an “Honorary Cajun” because of his 30-plus years here. “I spell biotech as bieaux-tech,” he says. “We have a vision of establishing Louisiana as the nation’s next biotech economy, and the university is leading that effort.”

This article is sponsored by the Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission, Lafayette Economic Development Authority and One Acadiana.