Amgen Waves Golden Tickets at Biotech Startups for Kendall Square Space
September 27, 2016
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Although it sounds a little bit like Willy Wonka, it could be a life-changing experience for a biotech startup. Amgen is now open to proposals for its LabCentral Golden Ticket.
LabCentral is a 28,000 square-foot shared lab space facility in Kendall Square, Cambridge. It’s designed to be a launchpad for high-potential life science and biotech startup companies.
Amgen is one of LabCentral’s platinum sponsors, and as such, can nominate up to two early-stage companies each year to use space at the facility. This year’s Golden Ticket nomination process opened September 6. Amgen will sponsor one company. A Golden Ticket provides one year of bench space for one scientist.
“Amgen is pleased to launch the process to identify Golden Ticket winners,” said Aine Hanley, vice president of Process Development and site head of Amgen Massachusetts, in a statement. “It’s exciting to learn about the breadth of innovative research that is taking place within startup companies throughout Massachusetts. Amgen is committed to rewarding innovators who are advancing potentially game-changing, early-stage research that have the ability to impact patients’ lives.”
Amgen assists in the LabCentral membership cost without any conditions. It is sponsoring one company. Any company interested should send a non-confidential company presentation to GoldenTicket@amgen.com by October 30, 2016. Amgen will notify the winner on December 10, 2016.
“We know there are many more life-science visionaries with great technology and terrific science, and we’re thrilled that Amgen continues to make such a strong commitment to promoting and supporting our Golden Ticket program,” said Johannes Fruehauf, co-founder and president of LabCentral, in a statement. “These contests help get the word out, ensuring that there continues to be a broad pool of applicants with the highest potential.”
LabCentral has a number of current residents, including AdViRNA, Affinivax, Aldatu Biosciences, Cocoon Biotech, Dragonfly Therapeutics, Entrega, HifiBio, Pinteon Therapeutics and Vaxess Technologies. Since 2014, Amgen has awarded three Golden Tickets. The three companies that received the Golden Tickets were Novopyxis, Cocoon Biotech and Platelet Biogenesis.
LabCentral’s facilities include fully functional laboratory space, permits, waste handling, and reasonably common laboratory equipment. There is also access to conference rooms, event space, and a kitchen. LabCentral, in addition, hosts programming related to life-science startups. It can accommodate about 100 scientists, and has 30 individual lab bays, eight private lab suites for companies of up to eight employees, and communal space.
Typically, the monthly per-person membership cost is $400. LabCentral indicates that a fully equipped co-working laboratory and office area with 30 individual bench spots and 14 lab desks, runs $3,840 and $430 to $535 per month, respectively. Monthly fees for the 18 private offices run from $960 to $2,610. Contract research organization (CRO) services are also provided on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis.
Companies that started at LabCentral, i.e. alumni companies, include NantKwest, Rubius Therapeutics, Torque and Unum Therapeutics.
Earlier this month, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that its Golden Ticket winners were PanTher and Suono Bio.
“PanTher and Suono Bio are working to deliver innovative technologies that have the potential to impact patients with serious diseases, and we’re pleased that the Golden Tickets will enable them to advance their research,” said Carl Decicco, head of Discovery at Bristol-Myers Squibb , in a statement. “Our sponsorship of LabCentral, and the awarding of Golden Tickets to these two companies, align with our strategy to encourage scientific innovations in our disease areas of focus, from academia through early development.”