The Horsham site of a former mail order pharmacy is being redesigned as the Center for Diagnostic Discovery, an entrepreneurial environment for healthcare innovation. John George broke the story in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The $12 million investment is the brainchild of Eric Rieders of NMS Labs in Horsham.

He envisions a location in which creative, visionary professionals collaborate to bring cutting-edge diagnostic products and processes to fight disease.

Rieders’ goal is a Montgomery County counterpart to Bucks County’s Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center.

He’s especially bullish on attracting investors to the diagnostics sector of the life sciences industry, a niche opportunity he believes is commonly undervalued by Wall Street.

The site will target entrepreneurs working on early- and mid-stage diagnostic science applications. It is intended to appeal to members seeking affordable lab space, access to equipment, and meeting rooms that foster creative collaboration.

Construction is already underway, and an initial participant — Willow Grove’s Center for Forensic Science Research — has been queued.

Larry Burns, Horsham’s director of community and economic and community development, sees the project as bolstering the area’s present life-sciences sector.

“We’re excited for projects like this that build our economy and create jobs,” he said.

The Philadelphia Business Journal has the full details of the Center for Diagnostic Discovery project.