United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics (UT), a public biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of products to address patients’ unmet needs. UT created the Dinutuximab-Dedicated Oncology Medical and Analytical Laboratory (DDOMAL) to expand commercial manufacturing capacity for its pediatric high-risk neuroblastoma therapy.

This project inspired a Montgomery County zoning amendment that enables life science development in high-density areas. The amendment allows the space required for equipment like HVAC and chillers—called NUBESA, or normally unoccupied building equipment support area—not to count against the square footage building occupancy limits. For DDOMAL, this allowed a 13,000 SF office density building to become a 28,000 SF lab facility. Companies like TCR2 and REGENXBIO subsequently benefitted from this zoning amendment. DDOMAL also set the stage for streamlining the site and sketch plan processes for the Biohealth Priority Campus Plan.

This facility won the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering’s Facility of the Year Award (FOYA) in 2020.