NORTH BRUNSWICK – The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) announced it will again expand its successful incubator program with the creation of the Biotechnology Development Center (BDC) on the 50-acre Technology Centre of New Jersey research park in North Brunswick.
The BDC will offer suites of intermediate lab and office space from 3,400 to 10,000 square feet for emerging life sciences companies including those that have outgrown incubator space and other early stage companies looking to expand.
More than 32,600 square feet of new space is now available at the BDC.
The Technology Centre of New Jersey also features the Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT), one of the more significant incubation facilities in the nation dedicated to life sciences and biotechnology companies.
“More than 400 biotechnology companies are situated in the Garden State, a 300 percent increase from less than a decade ago,” EDA Chief Executive Officer Melissa Orsen said in a prepared statement. “By creating new intermediate lab and office space, we are providing additional opportunities for these growing entities to plant their roots and thrive. The Technology Centre is now well positioned to offer young, growing firms, as well as large established companies, customizable laboratory and production facilities, ensuring we are able to support companies at all stages of growth.”
The BDC space will target all subsectors of the biotechnology industry, with the goal of serving graduates of the CCIT and other well-funded startups that are ready for intermediate space. In addition to affordable lab space, the BDC will offer common area amenities that include glass washing, kitchen, dining areas,and conference space, according to the statement.
The EDA has committed $1 million to support capital improvements, fixture furniture and equipment and one-time first year maintenance expenses for the new BDC space.
Upon graduation from CCIT, tenants frequently request access to expansion space in or near the research park so that they can accommodate the commuting patterns of their existing employees, according to the statement. Several successful CCIT graduates, such as Chromocell, Hurel, Orthobond, and Ascendia, have already established themselves on the Technology Centre campus, which is ideally located on the Route 1 Research Corridor.
To date, CCIT has graduated 46 companies.
The newest announcement marks the fourth expansion of the EDA’s tech incubator program. CCIT opened in 2002 with just 17 labs totaling 20,000 square feet and was expanded in 2005 to 46,000 square feet, with the addition of 10 wet labs, business accelerator office space and flexible conference facilities, according to the statement. Following that success, the EDA added intermediate lab space totaling 37,000 square feet in two phases for companies recently graduated from incubator space at CCIT.
Today’s expansion brings the total of EDA’s incubation space to more than 115,000 square feet.
For more information, visit www.njeda.com/tls and follow @NJEDATech on Twitter and LinkedIn.