Delivers turn-key wet lab and support space, attractive to life science start-ups and growth companies
Open doors on first location, Connect Labs Phoenix at 850 PBC in Phoenix, AZ
Wexford Science & Technology, LLC, a national developer specializing in creating Knowledge Communities exclusively with universities, academic medical centers, and research institutions has launched Connect Labs by Wexford, a new offering that features scale-in-place wet lab and innovation infrastructure particularly for emerging and growth companies in the life sciences, computational, engineering, and energy industries.
“Connect Labs strengthens the value of Wexford’s Knowledge Communities, for our partners and tenants, by providing the critical infrastructure and lab-ready spaces required by today’s emerging life science companies,” said Thomas Osha, Wexford’s Executive Vice President. “With the opening of our first location in Phoenix, we continue to deliver creative and productive environments that provide access to great talent and research; facilitate collaboration; engage communities, and now also accelerate the development timeline for establishing new lab capabilities and operations,” Osha continued.
Housed at 850 PBC in the Phoenix Bioscience Core, Wexford’s first location of Connect Labs encompasses 34,500 square feet of space, combining flexible wet lab, office, lab support and convening areas that have been thoughtfully designed to enhance collaboration among innovative companies, entrepreneurs, and university researchers.
Featuring a variety of lab configurations, from 250 to 8,000 square feet and office suites from single desk to 12-desk layouts, these secure and private furnished spaces meet the rigorous needs of life science companies in a variety of disciplines including biodesign, medical device, drug development, clean tech, and bioengineering.
In addition to space, Connect Labs members also have access to full-service amenities including specialized equipment; negotiated discounts on additional equipment, supplies, and consumables; innovation-related programming; and common amenities such as conference and meeting rooms, basic office equipment, and centralized support services.
To operate Connect Labs PHX, and complement the existing ecosystem, Wexford has partnered with the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation (CEI), who will operate and program Connect Labs Phoenix.
“Connect Labs Phoenix fills a much-needed void in the region’s innovation ecosystem and is a perfect complement to CEI’s existing lab incubator and our Market Validation Lab and LabForce bioscience training programs,” said Tom Schumann, CEI’s Executive Director. “There is no better place for the Maricopa Community Colleges to offer exceptional education programming than in our city’s Innovation District.”
“Connect Labs PHX fills a critical need within the Phoenix life sciences ecosystem and will help to ensure that great research coming out of the area’s universities and health systems will be able to scale and thrive in our region,” said Christine Mackay, Community and Economic Development Director at the City of Phoenix.
Pre-leasing demand has been strong with several companies having already moved into Connect Labs PHX, including BacVax, Cirrus Bio, Electra Tect, Regenesis Bio, and Sense Neuro Diagnostics. At full capacity, Connect Labs PHX will house approximately twenty-five companies and over a hundred researchers, scientists, and entrepreneurs.
“As an ASU alumni, I am excited to see a life sciences ecosystem emerging in Phoenix and to be able to have the space and resources available through Connect Labs PHX to grow my company, create jobs, and give back to the community that I love,” said Evan Darzi, Co-Founder and CEO at Electra Tect.
To learn more about Connect Labs by Wexford, please visit wexfordscitech.com/connectlabs. For additional information on our Phoenix location or to schedule a tour, please contact Kyle Jardine, Wexford’s Phoenix Market Executive at ([email protected]).
