Dallas is continuing its progress to becoming known as an emerging hub for biotech and life sciences. Renovations began this week on BioLabs, a membership-based network of shared laboratory space at the city’s new Pegasus Park. A mid-December opening is expected.
In September, biotech industry leader BioLabs unveiled plans to locate its first central U.S. location in Dallas. BioLabs will operate in a 37,000-square-foot flexible life science coworking facility at Pegasus Park, which sits just north of downtown and within walking distance of UT Southwestern Medical Center, a collaborator on the development.
BioLabs will be part of the Biotech+ Hub at Pegasus Park, which aims to establish Dallas as the newest destination for biotech and healthcare innovation.
Inside Pegasus Park
Pegasus Park is a future-focused redevelopment from Lyda Hill Philanthropies and J. Small Investments dedicated to accelerating life science and healthcare discoveries and boosting nonprofit resiliency.
Lyda Hill Philanthropies and J. Small Investments are transforming a former ExxonMobil campus into a center for innovation and social impact. Situated in a 23-acre, six-building campus strategically located near Dallas Design District and the Southwestern Medical District, the campus boasts a high-rise office tower, state-of-the-art facilities, and work-and-play amenities.
One of Pegasus Park’s most innovative qualities is its design. In addition to the Biotech+ Hub, there’s a nonprofit hub called the Water Cooler, commercial tenants, and entertainment/dining venues.
Overall, it’s a central location where startups, industry leaders, social impact companies, and academics can network.
The Biotech+ Hub
The dedicated space for the Biotech+ Hub will have lab, training, and office areas for a premium and flexible experience. With its built-in partnership with a nationally recognized operator, the project will also offer personalized, tenant-driven services.
In all, the Biotech+ Hub will be an epicenter for regional innovation. Lyda Hill Philanthropies and J. Small Investments hope it will enhance North Texas’ reputation for scientific and medical excellence.
“The development will augment North Texas’ ability to develop thousands of high-paying jobs, attract intellectual and investor capital, enhance access to groundbreaking healthcare, and recognize local expertise and technically skilled resources,” the companies said.
To do so, month-to-month leases will be provided for science and tech entrepreneurs seeking to commercialize their healthcare-related businesses. As a synergistic center, Pegasus Park could serve as the go-to place for early-stage life science companies to develop into high-growth ventures.
About BioLabs
Within the Biotech+ Hub, BioLabs will serve as the key operator of the biotech lab and coworking facility, where it can accommodate 35 startups. (BioLabs is now accepting applications for space at Pegasus Park).
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based BioLabs provides shared and private lab space and wraparound services for early stage scientific ventures. Its overall intent is to incubate and accelerate biotech—enabling biotech innovators to pursue scientific breakthroughs.
At Pegasus Park, BioLabs’ facility will be equipped with premium scientific equipment and additional services and amenities for resident companies.
BioLabs has already secured equipment for its existing interim space from numerous sponsors: DeNovix, Eppendorf, PHCbi, Promega, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Its 80+ units of equipment include freezers, thermocyclers, centrifuges, qPCR, plate readers, cell counters, spectrophotometers, pipettes, and more.
“We’re thankful for all the support to secure the equipment and services needed for the companies and entrepreneurs within our new facilities at Pegasus Park in Dallas,” Adam Milne, COO of BioLabs, said in a statement. “Our flexible and state-of-the-art lab space will offer startups access and opportunity to connect with capital, partnerships, and technical assistance to accelerate the pace of their work. We look forward to collaborating with the region’s life science and health innovators to help further the advancement in science in North Texas.”
The Biotech+ Hub continues to accelerate
It was announced in February that global law firm DLA Piper had formed a new partnership with LaunchBio, a national nonprofit network of life sciences innovators that expanded to North Texas last year, to provide educational programs and connections for local scientist entrepreneurs.
Together, LaunchBio and DLA Piper will provide support to life science startups in North Texas, creating a network that can boost companies locating to the Biotech+ Hub at Pegasus Park.
“DLA Piper’s support for LaunchBio’s work demonstrates the firm’s confidence in the potential for growth that the support network for the Biotech+ Hub at Pegasus Park represents for the community,” LaunchBio CEO Becky Beattie said previously. “We look forward to working collaboratively to accelerate the commercialization of technologies developed at the area’s leading universities.”
LaunchBio and its community partners—the UTSW Office of Technology Development and TechFW—deployed the first ThinkLab program in Dallas.
ThinkLab is a non-seed startup accelerator from LaunchBio that aims to advance the commercialization of biotech, medtech, and digital health technologies. Eight Dallas-based startups, all “first-time scientist entrepreneurs,” were chosen to participate in a 12-week virtual intensive training program led by Hayden Blackburn, the executive director of TechFW.
ThinkLab, which has educated more than 100 startups since its founding, offered the Dallas cohort free business training with the hope that they will one day locate their companies to Pegasus Park. Graduation was in April.
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