Universal Meditech in 2018 relocated its manufacturing and research and development operations to a 20,000 square-foot space at Fresno's North Pointe Industrial Business Park. Photo via City of Fresno

The City of Fresno announced Thursday afternoon that the company linked to the illegal biological lab in Reedley would not be able to move into a Fresno warehouse it seeks to occupy.

In March 2022, Prestige Biotech, Inc., the owner of Universal Meditech, Inc., submitted an operational statement to the City to move into warehouse and office space at 3900 N. Blattella Lane just north of Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

A revised operational statement submitted to the City on June 20 was not approved because it included changes indicating more intensive operations, including more office staff, technicians and visitors, extended hours of daily operations and hazardous materials.

In an Aug. 2 letter addressed to building owner Frank Rodriguez with Ford Tetra Partners, the City said Universal Meditech’s operational statement is incomplete and it would not grant a certificate of occupancy for the warehouse.

GV Wire’s Edward Smith broke the story on Aug. 2 that Universal Meditech planned to move into the facility. According to the article, developers finished the 17,000-square-foot warehouse earlier this year.

Universal Meditech’s first lab in Fresno was located at 1320 E. Fortune Ave. in August 2018, where it manufactured diagnostic medical testing devices such as pregnancy and drug tests. During the pandemic, it made Covid-19 testing kits and donated face masks.

In August 2020, a fire in the lab burned surrounding shelving and materials, with the fire report noting unpermitted lab walls and electrical wiring.

By December 2020, Universal Meditech had moved out of the building following a dispute with the landlord. After the business failed, Prestige Biotech, UMI’s biggest creditor, acquired the company and its assets.

In December 2022, a City of Reedley code enforcement officer noticed a hose sticking out of Prestige Biotech’s lab building, and after months’ long investigation, code enforcement officers entered the facility and discovered the illegal lab in April.

Investigators discovered nearly 1,000 bioengineered lab mice, infectious agents including E.Coli, malaria and coronavirus, various chemicals, medical waste, blood, tissue, serum, body fluid samples and illegal pregnancy tests.

News of the Chinese-owned lab has gone national, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy calling for an investigation during a talk with reporters Thursday, reported GV Wire.

“My concern is to get to the bottom of what happened here, but also look at where is this happening (in) other parts of this country as well. And, I’m going to take this back to the Select Committee on China and dealing with it as well and working with the FBI,” McCarthy said.

Fresno City Counilcmember Garry Bredefeld issued a similar call Monday.

---

Related story: State wants $1.3M in tax credits back from local companies