“My role is to look after the development of the University, which is home to almost 40,000 students and staff. I would like to thank all those who have contributed to building something so special in such a short time, something that will transform our University for decades to come and once again contribute to the further development of the Bohunice University Campus. The MUNI BioPharma Hub has a significant impact on the development of many areas at the national and international levels. It will help us to fulfil the Czech Republic’s commitments to the European Commission, which will enhance the good image of our country and position it well for the use of structural funds in the next period. I appreciate this moment all the more as it is not a matter of course in this country to complete such a strategically important project on time and without snags,” said Rector Martin Bareš about the project, which is expected to be fully completed by June next year. The ceremony was also attended by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek, Minister of Health Vlastimil Válek, Governor of the South Moravian Region Jan Grolich, Mayor of Brno Markéta Vaňková and Robert Suchánek, CEO of IMOS Brno, representing the construction consortium.
Officials hailed the project as a dream come true, realised just 400 days after the foundation stone was laid. The MUNI BioPharma Hub will connect the university with the private sector, become a place of research excellence and take the Bohunice University Campus to the next level, in line with Brno’s vision as a city of science, research, innovation and quality higher education.
From the academic year 2026/2027, the new building at Studentská Street, near SIMU and the Biology Park, will provide scientific and educational facilities for over 2,000 students and dozens of staff from the Faculties of Pharmacy, Science and Medicine, as well as PhD students pursuing their research projects. The infrastructure will also include the Preclinical Centre and the MU Centre for Molecular Medicine, which is why the project is being built with significant financial support from the Czech Ministry of Education and the European Union within the framework of the National Recovery Plan and the Operational Programme Johannes Amos Comenius.
“For the government to be able to ask universities to train sufficient numbers of specialists for key professions, especially in strategic areas such as public health and safety, it is necessary to help them develop the necessary infrastructure first,” said Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek.
The west wing of the building will house facilities for the Faculty of Pharmacy and an IT centre to be managed by the MU Institute of Computer Science. The other part of the building will contain research facilities, including spaces for breeding up to 7,000 laboratory mice and a zebrafish laboratory, which will be a research aquarium for breeding Danio rerio, a small freshwater fish of the Cyprinidae family. The species is a key model organism in biomedical research and the facility will be able to breed up to 30,000 of the fish in 2,000 tanks. The building will also house a clean room pilot line, which will focus on the development and low-volume production of pharmaceuticals. This facility will be unique in Central Europe and will enable future pharmaceutical chemists to gain direct experience with high-level manufacturing processes. Separate hermetically sealed laboratories will be at Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3), allowing work with highly transmissible pathogens.
The MUNI BioPharma Hub building is designed to be highly energy efficient, with a low environmental footprint and maximum use of renewable energy. One of its key features will be the use of waste heat from the data centre, which will provide up to 1,400 kW of heat for the air conditioning system, while also using waste air to maintain a stable temperature in the garages. The 104 solar panels on the roof of the MUNI BioPharma Hub will also make an important contribution to its sustainable operation. Most of the photovoltaic energy will be used on-site and any surplus will be stored in a planned battery system. Green roofs will help to reduce the building’s heat load and retain rainwater, contributing to natural temperature regulation. Rainwater will be collected in cisterns and used to flush toilets and water plants. A smart building management system (BMS) will also help optimise energy and water consumption and ensure efficient regulation of the operation of technological equipment.
“Work is currently underway on the installation of ventilation, cooling, heating, plumbing, and electrical systems. At the same time, construction of brick and drywall partitions is progressing, along with the installation of windows and facade elements. The goal is to seal and waterproof the building as soon as possible to minimise the impact of weather on the next phases of construction,” added Robert Suchánek, Chairman of the Board and CEO of IMOS Brno, the managing partner of the construction consortium.
More details on the project can be found in the press release