With infectious diseases multiplying — a new one has emerged every year for the past three decades — San Antonio’s Texas Biomedical Research Institute is planning to more than double its workforce of scientists by 2028.

“Over the next 10 years, we are transforming Texas Biomed into the premier place to solve this problem,” said Dr. Larry Schlesinger, the institute’s CEO. “Our mission is to protect families and our global community against infectious diseases.”

The goal is to increase the nonprofit’s workforce of 314 to 657 in the next decade. Meanwhile, Texas Biomed is undergoing a transformation of its 200-acre campus near Texas 151 and Northwest Loop 410 on the Northwest Side.

The expansion includes the construction of three new buildings at a cost of $230 million and $6.3 million in related expenses, according to a economic impact analysis by economist Steve Nivin of St. Mary’s University.

Work is nearly complete on a new lab, where scientists will study communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, bringing the institute’s total lab space to 75,000 square feet.

Currently, Texas Biomed is home to a biosafety level 4 laboratory, one of only four in the United States that can securely contain the world’s most dangerous biological agents. Low-risk microbes such as E.coli are studied in level 1 labs.

Schlesinger said researchers here are testing potential therapies for the Ebola virus, which carries a death rate of up to 90 percent.

Texas Biomed scientists, working with researchers worldwide, have also helped develop hepatitis B vaccine and C cure.

Dr. Jennifer Potter, vice dean for research at the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, said the school has long had a close relationship with the Texas Biomedical Research Institute.

In collaboration with UT Health — and as part of its expansion — the institute also will house the largest marmoset colony in the country for research on aging and infectious diseases. Marmoset are small monkeys that live in South American rainforests.

Texas Biomed keeps more than 2,400 monkeys and 96 retired chimpanzees on site as part of the Southwest National Primate Research Center, one of seven such facilities in the country.

Ricardo Carrion Jr., who runs the high-containment lab, said scientists and veterinarians test promising therapeutics on nonhuman primates, looking at whether there’s a strong enough case to ask the federal government to allow clinical trials in humans.

Eight generations of baboons have grown up at the facility, but not without incident. Last spring, three baboons escaped, breaching the facility’s perimeter fencing before they were recaptured.

Ann Stevens, president of BioMed SA, an industry advocacy group, credits Schlesinger with bringing together members of San Antonio’s biomedical industry.

Recruiting the right teams of scientists is part of the institute’s 10-year plan, Schlesinger said. He’s also looking to improve the institute’s business development efforts.

Texas Biomed’s annual operating budget is now nearly $60 million, with 80 percent of its research grants coming from the federal government. The nonprofit also draws revenue from The Argyle, a private dinner club in Alamo Heights, which opened in 1956 as means to raise money for the institute.

Texas oilman Tom Slick — who wanted San Antonio to be “a city of science” — launched the institute in 1941, as well as the Southwest Research Institute, with 1,875 shares of the Slick-Urschel Oil Co.

Laura Garcia covers the health care industry in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her stories and more local coverage on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | laura.garcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @Reporter_Laura