Madrid-Based Cancer Diagnostics Co. Snags Biggest Spec Suite at Pegasus Park’s Bridge Labs

Founded in 2012, Universal DX is focused on "cracking cancer’s code" via its multi-omics and machine learning models. Starting with colorectal cancer, it's building a "multi-cancer platform" that can ID the unique DNA regions associated with different types of cancers.

Madrid-based Universal DX has come in as a new tenant at Dallas’ Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park, where the international cancer diagnostics biotechnology company will occupy 8,021 square feet in the facility’s largest spec suite.

Juan Martinez-Barea

“We’re thrilled to expand our company’s presence beyond our headquarters in Spain and join the dynamic ecosystem at Pegasus Park,” Juan Martinez-Bareaz, founder and executive president of Universal DX, said in a statement.

Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park, which opened in September, is North Texas’ first institutional-quality laboratory space, meeting the region’s increasing demand as a dynamic biotech hub. The facility has 135,000 square feet of newly developed laboratory and office space, designed to support both emerging and established biotech companies, while helping to further strengthen the area’s thriving life sciences ecosystem.

Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park offers best-in-class shell laboratory space and spec suites ranging from 4,592 to 8,021 square feet, with 46% of the space currently leased. The Pegasus Park campus also is the home of BioLabs Pegasus Park, a state-of-the-art incubator laboratory and office facility for startup life sciences companies.

Cracking cancer’s code

Founded in 2012, Universal DX is an international, multidisciplinary team focused on cracking cancer’s code.

Via its multi-omics and machine learning models, Universal DX said it has figured out how to read the disease’s signals in order to detect it in its earliest stages. Starting with colorectal cancer, Universal DX said it’s building a “multi-cancer platform” that can identify the unique DNA regions associated with different types of cancers.

The company said it was founded on Silicon Valley’s ideals of technology and development (Singularity University), and it has developed a network of R&D partners including Quest Diagnostics and Hologic (Diagenode). Universal DX said its scientific advisory board includes leading oncologists, gastroenterologists, and business experts from the US and Europe.

Besides its HQ in Madrid, the company has offices in Sevilla, Spain; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and a U.S. base in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Strengthening the life science ecosystem

The Pegasus Park campus is home to more than 20 biotech companies, life sciences accelerator programs, universities, and prominent nonprofit and social impact agencies. Last year, it was selected as the location for the Customer Experience Hub of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a $3 billion federal agency committed to driving transformative biomedical and health breakthroughs.

The development includes an 18-story office tower, BioLabs, a state-of-the-art incubator laboratory, an office facility for startup life sciences companies, Bridge Labs, a purpose-built institutional quality non-incubator life sciences building with laboratory and office space, and nonprofit and social impact shared spaces. The Pegasus Park campus catalyzes a more robust life science ecosystem in North Texas and strengthens the local nonprofit sector through a dedicated social impact hub occupying five floors of the office tower.


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R E A D   N E X T

  • The $8.6 million grant has been awarded to the city of Dallas on behalf of Fair Park First and the Community Park and will be distributed through the National Park Service’s Land and Water Conservation Fund’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program.

  • According to an economic impact report by The Perryman Group, the 26-acre Pegasus Park campus, once fully built out under its master plan, is projected to generate $1.9 billion in annual gross product and create over 15,000 jobs. Bridge Labs, the latest addition to the Pegasus Park campus, is designed to provide high-quality, flexible lab and office space for growth-stage biotech companies. "It's one-of-a-kind in the region," said Nicole Small, CEO of Lyda Hill Philanthropies.

  • Erik Moss brings more than 12 years of experience in the social sector to the position, where he will spearhead efforts to foster collaboration and community engagement, The Dallas Foundation and Lyda Hill Philanthropies said.

  • The UT Southwestern researchers' noninvasive model uses a standard MRI, paired with machine learning AI, to detect the presence of cancer cells in the lymph nodes under the arms.

  • The expansion is aimed at advancing the health innovation incubator's mission of supporting transformative healthcare startups and connecting them with the resources needed for success. Since 2013, 118 healthcare-focused companies have collectively secured over $350 million in follow-up funding after participating in its accelerator, Health Wildcatters said.