The fourth floor of the Cellomics headquarters building in the Pittsburgh Technology Center has been chosen as the site for Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse's incubator space.
The state-sponsored greenhouse, which plans to eventually provide as much as 25,000 square feet of incubator space, will initially occupy up to 15,000 square feet in the five-story, 153,000-square-foot building in South Oakland, which was chosen after a search that included a number of sites within the region.
It will be joined by Quaker BioVentures, a $200 million Philadelphia-based life science venture capital firm, which is opening another office in this region.
Both the incubator and venture firm are expected to be in their new space by the end of March.
The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse will relocate from the Regional Enterprise Tower, Downtown, where it has been sharing space with the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse, another state-sponsored project working to make western Pennsylvania a global center for next-generation microchip technology design.
The greenhouse's move has been spurred by its receipt of $33.3 million investment from the state as part of a 10-year plan for creating or attracting dozens of new biomedical and bioscience companies and thousands of new jobs.
Dennis Yablonsky, outgoing greenhouse president, said the new location meets the initiative's criteria, which includes being close to transportation and the university research community in Oakland. It also will help the greenhouse to support early-stage and start-up life sciences companies by making available a combination of wet lab and office space, along with other services, Yablonsky said.
"They (Quaker) will bring a substantial pool of experienced life sciences venture capital into western Pennsylvania," Yablonsky said.
Sherrill Neft, Quaker BioVentures managing partner, said, "Quaker BioVentures is committed to a deep, long-term presence in Pittsburgh."
Initially, one staff member will be assigned to Pittsburgh, but, depending on future financing availability, that number could grow, he said.
The incubator facility, which will include the six-member Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse staff, will consist of 40 percent lab and 60 percent office space, and is expected to house up to 10 life sciences companies and feature 10 Web lab facilities.
