BioLabs North Carolina, which is part of a growing national network offering coworking space for emerging science companies, will begin offering 42,000 square feet of space in downtown Durham later this year. As many as 40 firms are expected to occupy the space.
Partners include GlaxoSmithKline and law firm Wyrick Robbins.
The new coworking space announcement is the latest in a series of recent announcements regarding workspace for life science startups and emerging firms in the Triangle.
BioLabs NC announced Tuesday that its operations will be located in the Chesterfield Building at 701 W. Main Street. The firm, which launched in Durham last year, already hosts two startups (StrideBio and Element Genomics) in space leased in another building. BioLabs announced plans to enter the Triangle market in 2015.
“All companies are expected to transition over to the Chesterfield building,” BioLabs explained in an FAQ. “We will plan the move to minimize any downtime in lab operations for member companies, engaging residents in an active dialogue to ensure that the transition goes as smoothly as possible. BioLabs North Carolina will assume the costs associated with the move.”
Offerings include flexible, equipped wet lab and office space.
The building also will offer what BioLabsNC calls an “open lab” which includes 100 individual lab benches for use by scientists in a shared lab.
The BioLabs network already features offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts; San Francisco and San Diego. Another is set to open in New York City.
“Our Cornerstone Partners [GSK, Wyrick Robbins, building developer Wexford Science & Technology] have helped create a tremendous opportunity to enhance North Carolina’s ability to launch companies, attract capital and talent, and solidify its reputation as a leading life-science hub,” said BioLabs NC founder Eric Linsley in the announcement. “Our mission is to provide biotech entrepreneurs a fertile environment with the best infrastructure, equipment, services, and programs to enable their unfettered practice of science on day one of move-in.”
GSK Director of Worldwide Business Development Larry DeGraaf said the drug giant looks “forward to partnering with BioLabs to mentor emerging life science companies and support scientific innovation in central North Carolina.” GSK maintains a large campus in RTP and a manufacturing plant in Zebulon.
Companies interested in space can apply via the BioLabs website (http:www.biolabs.io/location/north-carolina).
“BioLabs NC and its connections to national investors and pharma partners is sure to become a key to success for many early-stage life science startups in North Carolina as they move groundbreaking technologies and therapies forward,” added Larry Robbins of the Wyrick Robbins firm.
