$30-Million Arkana Laboratories Expansion To Create Little Rock Jobs

By Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate

September 7, 2022

Arkana Laboratories executive director Chris Larsen announced a $30 million expansion of his company’s Little Rock facility Sept. 7, 2022.

Little Rock-based Arkana Laboratories is launching a $30-million expansion project that will create 74 new positions by 2028.

As the largest renal pathology lab in the country, Arkana Laboratories processes an estimated 40% of the country’s kidney biopsies. The company makes more than $30 million annually, and some of its best-known competitors include the Mayo Clinic and Texas-based ProPath.

“We know that people across the U.S. are going to continue to hear about Arkana Laboratories, and we want to be ready with the staff, the facilities and the advanced diagnostics so that we can serve every one of those patients that comes to us,” company executive director Chris Larsen said during a press conference Wednesday.

The company opened in 2001 with a team of five that processed just over 500 biopsies in its first year. Today Arkana Laboratories has grown to a staff of 155 and anticipates processing more than 24,000 biopsies from 44 states this year.

Larsen said he hopes to be fully staffed with 170 people by the end of the year.

The $30 million expansion project includes adding 10,000 square feet to the company’s existing 90,000-square-foot building in West Little Rock. Arkana Laboratories has purchased the building it’s been leasing, and officials anticipate breaking ground in the next month or two.

The expansion project is expected to be completed by 2024.

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