PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Science Exchange, a platform for outsourced research and development (R&D) services, today announced a partnership with QB3, the University of California hub for innovation and entrepreneurship for life sciences.

Through an exclusive Science Exchange-QB3 marketplace, QB3-affiliated companies will now have access to a customized and secure marketplace where they can instantly order R&D services from a network of more than 2,500 qualified scientific service providers. Science Exchange’s scientific concierge staff also will offer support to QB3’s start-up companies in identifying innovative providers and ordering complex R&D services.

“Science Exchange will help accelerate our companies by giving them access to providers that are experienced with entrepreneurial research and that have already been reviewed and qualified,” said Ioana Aanei, Ph.D., Entrepreneurship Program Manager at QB3. “Many of our startups don’t have the resources to purchase their own capital equipment or do the necessary specialized scientific research in-house.”

“Science Exchange is committed to helping life science companies bring innovative, potentially life-saving products to market,” said Elizabeth Iorns, Ph.D., Founder & CEO of Science Exchange. “While QB3’s companies focus on discovery, we can help eliminate the barriers, including the time and expertise needed to research and qualify contract research organizations (CROs) and scientific service providers. We also help save time and money in contract negotiation, all while ensuring the protection of intellectual property.”

QB3 joins more than 30 enterprise clients and entrepreneurial incubators that are efficiently managing their outsourced R&D with Science Exchange-powered marketplaces.

About QB3

QB3 is the University of California’s hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in the life sciences. The institute supports UC researchers and empowers Bay Area entrepreneurs to launch startup companies and partner with industry. QB3 helps bio-entrepreneurs create hundreds of high-value jobs and bring more than $750 million into the Bay Area each year. With campus divisions at Berkeley, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz, QB3 is also affiliated with the San Francisco incubator QB3@953 — home to more than 45 companies — and the seed-stage venture capital firm Mission Bay Capital. Visit us at http://qb3.org/.

About Science Exchange

Science Exchange is the world’s leading platform for outsourced research, providing an efficient procure-to-pay platform for ordering services from a network of more than 2,500 qualified scientific service providers, all with pre-established contracts in place that protect client intellectual property and confidentiality. The platform increases scientists’ access to innovation and improves productivity, freeing them up from the administrative tasks and delays associated with sourcing, establishing and managing service provider contracts. Additionally, the Science Exchange enterprise program enables R&D organizations to consolidate research outsourcing spend into a single strategic relationship, driving efficiency and cost savings. Since being founded in 2011, Science Exchange has raised more than $58 million from Norwest Venture Partners, Maverick Capital Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Index Ventures, OATV, the YC Continuity Fund, and others. For more information, visit www.ScienceExchange.com. Follow the company on Twitter @ScienceExchange.

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