New laboratory facilities support start-up life science companies and help grow the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem

UNION, NJ – The Institute for Life Science Entrepreneurship (ILSE) announced the launch of its new Life Sciences incubator in the state-of-the-art New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics (NJCSTM) on the campus of Kean University in Union, NJ, a founding member of ILSE.

The incubator is the latest addition to the ILSE BioCenter, which also houses ILSE headquarters and meeting space for seminars, conferences, networking and other events.  Embedded in a dynamic academic environment, the BioCenter provides opportunities for cross-fertilization between entrepreneurs, industry scientists, business leaders, students and faculty.

“The launch of the ILSE incubator represents the next step in realizing our vision of creating a new, fully integrated life science ecosystem hub in New Jersey,” said Dr. Keith Bostian, interim CEO of ILSE and Dean of the Kean’s New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics (NJCSTM).  “ILSE will be a vehicle to accelerate academic innovation into meaningful new products that improve human health.  We are gratified by the growing positive feedback and support from universities, the academic research community, industry and other stakeholders across our region recognizing ILSE as an emerging contributor to our life sciences ecosystem,” he added.

The ILSE incubator will start with several fully built-out laboratory suites of approximately 600 or 1,200 square feet, with future expansion anticipated.  In addition to the laboratory suites, tenants will have access to a broad array of core analytical and research instrumentation located within the NJCSTM facility, as well as to the accelerator services and regional consulting and research networks that ILSE is creating.

Lauren Moore, Executive Director of the New Jersey Business Action Center, stated, “We are very excited to see the emergence of ILSE and the new incubator facility as an engine for small, start-up and spin-out life science companies to seed and grow right here in our region.”

“We look forward to sharing our expertise and state-of-the-art facilities with new companies,” adds Nancy Perigo, Manager of Research Facilities.  “The value of full-service biotech incubators in the start-up environment is well established, and the future for biotechnology is bright indeed.”

PHOTO CAPTION: The ILSE incubator, housed in a state-of-the-art 133,000-square-foot research and teaching facility on the Kean University Union campus, features research laboratories, classrooms, a 320-seat auditorium for workshops, lectures, conferences and other major events, and a 630-person atrium for meeting exhibits, break-out and poster sessions, and other social education events.

Contacts:

Media – Scott Siegel (908-737-1922 x104)

Incubator – Michael Graziano (908-737-1922 x103)

To view the Incubator brochure, please click here.

*This press release appeared in Innovation NJ, NJ Life Sciences Vendors Alliance, NJBiz, New Jersey Business, and The Forked River Gazette*