The FINANCIAL — One year after the opening of its U.S. Innovation Center, Bayer HealthCare is expanding its U.S. research model, according to Bayer HealthCare.
The company will open the CoLaborator – a 550 square meter shared lab for start-up life science companies whose technology platforms, drug targets or drug candidates align with Bayer’s portfolio. The CoLaborator is expected to house three to four small companies. Bayer plans to launch the CoLaborator by late summer 2012 at its Mission Bay location.
Demand for start-up lab space to support academic researchers and their teams of post-doctoral and graduate students remains high in California. According to the most recent industry report from BayBio and the California Healthcare Institute, researchers at the University of California produce, on average, four new inventions a day, and UC develops more patents than any other university in the U.S.. This high level of research productivity has resulted in 461 start-ups since 1976 according to the California Biomedical Industry 2011 Report.
The goal of Bayer’s CoLaborator-approach is to support start-ups in establishing their research labs, with academic researchers spinning out new firms and venture capital groups being the likely sources of these companies. In addition to lab facilities, access to the global expertise and equipment of Bayer’s research network will be available to CoLaborator-scientists.
In return for low-cost, ready to use lab space and access to its global expertise, Bayer would seek preferred access to partner with the emerging companies.The CoLaborator-facility design is flexible and open – encouraging a collaborative environment not only with Bayer’s scientists but also between scientific entrepreneurs. The CoLaborator will be located at Bayer’s U.S. Innovation Center at 455 Mission Bay Boulevard South.
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