CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- LabCentral, an innovative, shared laboratory space designed to be a catalyst for high-potential entrepreneurs and life-sciences startups, reached another milestone last week with the addition of Eppendorf North America as a major sponsor. Eppendorf North America is the U.S. subsidiary of the Hamburg/Germany-based maker of quality laboratory equipment. Slated for opening November 1, 2013, LabCentral will become the first flexible, affordable, fully equipped and resourced lab and office facility in the heart of the Cambridge Biotech Innovation Hub.
“We are excited to become partners of LabCentral and proud to support LabCentral’s mission to advance the life sciences in this innovative cluster,” said President and CEO of Eppendorf North America, Matin Khajooei. “Eppendorf has a long tradition of supporting scientists in their work with best-in-class products and support. LabCentral’s model is unique and will change the way biotechnology companies are built in the future,” he added.
LabCentral received a competitive $5 million capital grant from the Massachusetts Life Science Center in February 2013, Triumvirate Environmental and Johnson & Johnson Innovation became founding sponsors shortly thereafter, and Edwards Wildman Palmer, LLP joined in the platinum category. Gold sponsors include Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Cushman & Wakefield, and Cooley, LLP. MIT Investment Management Co. is LabCentral’s real estate partner. Additional LabCentral sponsors include Ambit Creative, Kendall Press, Silicon Valley Bank, Steady Vision, and Union Office Interiors.
Commenting on the addition of Eppendorf to its growing list of sponsors, LabCentral President and Executive Director Johannes Fruehauf, said, “It is great to find committed partners like Eppendorf who share our vision of creating the best possible environment for new life-science companies. We are thankful for their endorsement and the support, which enables us to offer even better services and best-in-class instruments to our participants. We welcome Eppendorf as our newest sponsor and look forward to a long and successful relationship with the company.”
Build-out of the facility is progressing on target, and LabCentral began reviewing applications from scientists, entrepreneurs, and life-sciences startups in July; it has accepted 12 companies to date. The application process starts with a short form available on the LabCentral Web site at: www.labcentral.org/apply-for-a-space/. Following submission of the form, the LabCentral team interviews applicants to finalize their candidacy and ensure consistency with LabCentral’s mission. Tours of the new facility under construction can also be arranged.
About LabCentral (www.labcentral.org; twitter @labcentral)
A state-of-the art 27,000 square-foot facility in development in the heart of Kendall Square, Cambridge, LabCentral will become home to as many as 25 life-sciences startups employing 70+ high-potential scientists and entrepreneurs. LabCentral will provide fully equipped laboratory and office space, first-class facility and administrative support, a domain-relevant expert speaker series as well as the other critical services and support that startups need to transition from a science/technology focus to successful commercial-stage enterprises improving patient health. LabCentral is a private, nonprofit institution, funded in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, with support from MITIMCo. Founding sponsors include Triumvirate Environmental and Johnson & Johnson Innovation. The facility is slated to be open in November 2013.
About Eppendorf North America
Eppendorf North America is a subsidiary of Eppendorf AG, a leading life science company that develops and sells instruments, consumables, and services for liquid-, sample-, and cell handling in laboratories worldwide. Its product range includes pipettes and automated pipetting systems, dispensers, centrifuges, mixers, spectrometers, and DNA amplification equipment as well as ultra-low temperature freezers, fermentors, bioreactors, CO2 incubators, shakers, and cell manipulation systems. Associated consumables like pipette tips, test tubes, microtiter plates, and disposable bioreactors complement the instruments for highest quality workflow solutions. Eppendorf products are most broadly used in academic and commercial research laboratories, e.g., in companies from the pharmaceutical and biotechnological as well as the chemical and food industries. They are also aimed at clinical and environmental analysis laboratories, forensics, and at industrial laboratories performing process analysis, production, and quality assurance. Eppendorf was founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1945 and has about 2,600 employees worldwide. The company has subsidiaries in 23 countries and is represented in all other markets by distributors.
SOURCE LabCentral
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