WOODBURY, MN — Kindeva, a technology company in Minnesota, is a contract development and manufacturing organization in the pharmaceutical industry. They provide technologies and services, from formulation and product development to commercial manufacturing, including inhalation drug delivery, transdermal drug delivery, microstructure transdermal systems, and connected drug delivery.

As a recent spin-off from 3M, Kindeva is going through a business transformation. They needed a global headquarters and R&D facility that would support business growth (not only locally but for six additional worldwide locations) in a competitive global market and improve synergy among staff, administration, and leadership.

For their business transition as a stand-alone company, they sought a partner who understood their business goals and could design the infrastructure to support its growth and cultural transformation. After a national search, they chose Minnesota as their home because of the growing technology industry here, and HGA as their partner because of the firm’s experience partnering with other high-tech science & technology businesses.

HGA has built long-term partnerships with science & technology, health care, and government organizations to design research labs, clean rooms, and administrative spaces that advance the clients’ mission to develop new technology, products, and services that contribute to scientific discovery.

HGA’s partnership with Kindeva began by evaluating the company’s existing space on the 3M campus and conceptualizing an ideal new R&D headquarters where they could build their global brand and inspire collaboration between team members across functions and departments. The existing clean room labs at 3M were difficult to access for visitors, requiring security checks, suiting up, and navigating around equipment and lab staff to observe and evaluate processes and technology. Additionally, the large campus infrastructure physically separated leadership, sales, marketing, and R&D staff, creating unintentional silos and reducing random acts of collaboration.

“Through a collaborative evaluation process, Kindeva with HGA envisioned breaking down physical impediments and transforming the silos into more open, collaborative spaces while integrating cutting-edge technology and safety standards into industry-leading clean rooms that support innovation in drug delivery systems,” said Leigh Harrison, Principal at HGA.

The new 137,500-square-foot building integrates the laboratory, quality control, manufacturing, and business functions in a collaborative space. Some of HGA’s design details include:

The laboratories and ISO-7 clean room suites set a new standard in the category. They have windows opening to hallways, allowing clients, customers, regulators, and prospective partners a front-row presentation of technology and processes without Tyvek suits, specialized security, and the risk of unintentional interaction or contamination of lab and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) processes. The lab benches are separated by a utility corridor, like a data center, allowing equipment to be connected to all services from behind the bench, keeping the work area clean and open.The Global HQ integrates Kindeva’s branded colors throughout the facility, including clean rooms, common areas, and administrative space. Windows to labs open to exterior hallways to allow natural light and outdoor views into the lab space. COVID-compliant office and cube spacing is combined with high-performance HVAC, office furniture, and adaptive LED lighting to provide a productive work environment that communicates safety. Informal collaborative and recreational space increase collaborations and relationships between all levels of the company. Unisex changing rooms and multiple mother’s rooms create an inclusive environment.The GMP clean room suite was designed to ISO-7 standards. Several of the laboratories offer additional environmental controls driving high-performance HVAC equipment. These allow differential negative pressures between common areas and clean rooms, and even between adjoining clean rooms. Temperature and relative humidity can be independently controlled between wide extremes to simulate manufacturing conditions in tropical, arid, and arctic environments, and specialized smart screens alert technicians to optimize environmental conditions for safety and process requirements. Every door is monitored not just for entry or exit but for air infiltration, providing data to the building control system that compensates to maintain the required environment.

By combining its expertise in engineering, architecture, research, technology, and branding, HGA helped Kindeva create a global R&D headquarters for more than 175 scientists, marketers, and support staff that positions the company as an industry leader in the medical technology & devices industry. This project aligns with HGA’s mission to collaborate with high-tech clients who are contributing to the greater good through research and innovation.