The flagship facility for life sciences in Vienna
The Campus Vienna Biocenter (CVBC) is one of the most outstanding and prominent life sciences hubs in Austria, featuring more than 1,400 scientists working in an area of 67,000 m².
In the year 2002, ZIT initiated its first real estate project together with the company Prisma Unternehmensgruppe. The Campus Vienna Biocenter 2 project set new standards in laboratory building construction. Refusing to simply construct a modern lower-priced functional building, ZIT and Prisma agreed on a high value and architecturally sophisticated edifice. This is normal from today’s point of view, but represented an exception five years ago. At that time, young start-ups and the University of Applied Sciences, Campus Wien, rented the 4,500 m² of space. In the meantime, CVBC 2 is home to the firm AFFiRiS GmbH, one of the most spectacular pharmaceutical deals in recent times.
In October 2008, Campus Vienna Biocenter celebrated an exciting milestone. Intercell AG became the first Viennese biotechnology spin-off to move into its own building, featuring 7,500 m² of space. In 2005, ZIT and Prisma jointly initiated construction of Campus Vienna Biocenter 3.
A private investor, Hypo Tirol AG, already agreed during the pre-project phase to participate in the CVBC 3 project. From ZIT’s point of view, this represents an unqualified success. Back in 2002, no private investor wanted to get involved. Three years later, public sector financing was no longer necessary, and ZIT succeeded in attracting private capital for long-term infrastructure projects which are of relevance to the country’s innovation policies.
Within the context of CVBC3, a further EUR 600,000 was invested to improve the amenity values of the campus.
