By Lillie Mermoud
From groundbreaking therapies to life-saving diagnostics, biotechnology and life sciences entrepreneurs have endless opportunities to make a tremendous impact on human health and well-being.
The road to success in these industries is often filled with obstacles. One of the biggest hurdles is the significant cost of setting up a fully equipped laboratory from which aspiring entrepreneurs can perform proof of concept work and validate commercial potential of new technologies. The expense of specialized equipment, lab consumables, and lab space can be prohibitive for early-stage startups with little capital and only early product development
Recently awarded with the Innovate Alabama Network Designation, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is excited to announce the opening of a new Shared Lab space on our biotechnology campus in Huntsville, Alabama, to meet a critical gap in early start-ups’ need for spaces to perform research and development.
This initiative, generously funded through a grant from Innovate Alabama, is specifically designed to empower biotech entrepreneurs and start-ups in the region. With affordable, short-term rentals of state-of-the-art lab facilities, this initiative is a game-changer, offering the support and resources needed to bring visionary ideas to life.
The new Shared Lab will function similarly to coworking spaces available around the country, but specifically designed for biotechnology and life sciences start-ups. The lab will include critical scientific equipment needed for small-scale experiments such as freezers, an autoclave, incubators, and lab consumables like reagents, pipettes, beakers, tissue culture dishes, and more. With room for up to eight users at a time at six lab benches, the space will be available for short-term, flexible commitments which will help entrepreneurs stay capital efficient while they test their ideas.
In addition to lab space and equipment, the Shared Lab space will be fully managed and stocked by HudsonAlpha. Tenants will have access to the many benefits available to the campus’s existing associate companies, such as networking opportunities, resources, and visibility as members of the HudsonAlpha community. The Shared Lab is slated to open Fall 2024
HudsonAlpha’s Shared Lab space is a cost-effective solution that responds to the strong demand for lab space in the region. It offers the Institute a unique opportunity to continue its mission of empowering entrepreneurship in the life sciences.
“HudsonAlpha has fostered biotechnology start-ups since it was founded in 2008,” said Alex Cate, HudsonAlpha’s director of entrepreneurship programs “The Shared Lab offers us an exciting opportunity to lower barriers to entry and serve entrepreneurs at even earlier stages of their journey. The goal is for the Shared Lab to offer these visionaries the ability to collect the data they need to take their business beyond concept and fast-track ideas into real-world solutions.”
For questions or more information, please contact Alex Cate at acate@hudsonalpha.org or 256-327-9793.
