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The building will provide biotech startups necessary tools and space to conduct research and development.
Rendered image of the IGI Bakar Labs building. Courtesy of Bakar Labs.
The University of California, Berkeley’s incubator for life sciences Bakar Labs announced construction for a new research and development building on campus for early-stage biotech startups. Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) partnered with Bakar Labs to create the IGI-Bakar Labs building, which will provide housing for expanding startups transitioning out of early incubation stages and aims to retain promising startups within the Berkely ecosystem.
Jennifer Doudna, UC Berkeley professor and Nobel laureate, founded IGI to develop genome editing solutions for health and agricultural requirements. Doudna capitalized on incubation opportunities at Berkeley, as many of her co-founded companies (Caribou Biosciences, Azalea Therapeutics, and CatenaBio) currently reside in Bakar Labs. The proven success leads to the belief that IGI research lab’s adjacent proximity to the new building provides a mutual benefit in developing useful genome technologies.
The IGI Bakar Labs building focuses on fast tracking startups to the independent stage while still allowing for needed developments and expansions in an appropriate timeframe, such as the process in Berkley’s alternative incubation spaces.
Sophia Lugo, CEO & co-founder of Radar Therapeutics, touched on the opportunity Bakar Labs provided her company, saying, “Bakar Labs gave us the foundation to move fast and stay focused during our earliest days. The community, resources, and collaborative energy were unlike anything else in the Bay Area. As we've grown, it's meant everything to have a path forward that lets us scale without losing that connection. This new expansion space is exactly what companies like ours need to keep building, without leaving behind the ecosystem that helped us get here." 1
To entice startups to remain within the Berkley ecosystem, the IGI-Bakar Labs building provides:
David Schaffer, a UC Berkeley professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and director of QB3 and Bakar Labs mentioned, "It's important to keep startups in Berkeley because they're not just creating jobs for skilled graduates, they're feeding a cycle of innovation, when leaders stay connected to the ecosystem, they return to Bakar Labs as mentors, advisors and role models. That continuity strengthens the entire community." 1
The building plans were officially approved by the Regents of the University of California July17th, with construction slated to finish at the end of 2028. Floor plans of the building consist of housing IGI offices and labs on the floors 1-3, with floors 4-6 housing Barkar Labs.
The 72,000 square foot building can house upwards of 14 startup or growth stage companies, with accommodations for scaling companies to collaborate and form community within the building. Bakar Lab’s proven track record of success with incubated companies in its first location on campus assisted in getting the new building expansion approved. As a collective, 45 Bakar incubated seed-stage startups have raised nearly $700 million in capital funds since 2021.
The building, expected for completion by the end of 2028, is located at the corner of Oxford Street and University Avenue, on the north edge of the Berkeley innovation zone.
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