The public will get its first look Nov. 13 at a new facility that will produce test amounts of therapeutic anti-cancer agents for clinical trials. The facility was developed through a partnership between Cornell University and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

There will be a reception at 204 Stocking Hall at 9 a.m., followed by remarks from Cornell President Hunter Rawlings; Lloyd J. Old, director of the Ludwig Institute; and Carl A. Batt, director of the new facility. A ribbon-cutting at 301 Stocking Hall will take place at 10:30 a.m. Between 11 a.m. and noon, visitors will be able to hear a description of the facility and view its production area from an adjoining classroom. Production in the unit will not begin for at least six months.

Behind Stocking Hall's nearly century-old facade (in which Cornell students once took dairy-science classes) is a $2 million Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) regulations facility for the production of recombinant proteins that took about two years to complete. It consists of a series of clean rooms in which air is pumped through filters that remove particles as small as bacteria.

The area of Stocking Hall that houses the facility has been renovated to meet GMP regulations issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use by pharmaceutical, medical-device and food manufacturers in the production and testing of consumer products.

The bioproduction facility is the second for the Ludwig Institute. Its first was opened in 1995 in Melbourne, Australia. Initially, says Batt, also a Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of food science at Cornell, the facility will produce tumor antigens that hold promise as immuno-therapeutic agents. "The GMP renovation has reinvented the third floor of Stocking Hall, and it is state-of-the-art," says Batt.

The Ludwig Institute, which began forging its partnership with Cornell in 1999, is a not-for-profit global research organization that addresses the complex nature of cancer through a range of scientific disciplines. More than 900 scientists and support staff conduct basic and clinical research, with a focus on genetics, tumor immunology, cell biology and signaling.

To tour the new facility Nov. 13, call Rebecca Coil (607) 255-0114 or rlc12@cornell.edu . Space will be limited.