QB3 Launches New Biotech Incubator in San Francisco with 24 Companies

24,000 Square Foot Building Offers More Than $500,000 in Research Equipment

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today in San Francisco QB3 opened a new biotech incubator: QB3@953.

A full-service incubator, QB3@953 provides entrepreneurs with the resources they need to turn scientific discoveries into products and services. QB3@953 offers more than $500,000 in equipment, a rich network of mentors and investors, and a community of entrepreneurs.

"Startups are one of the best ways of turning breakthrough science into great products, but in the life sciences the high price of equipment and space means many great ideas never get a chance. We want to change that. We want to help entrepreneurial scientists change the world," said QB3 Associate Director Douglas Crawford, PhD. "QB3@953 is custom-built for this purpose."

QB3@953 makes creating a biotech startup affordable by offering specialized resources in increments as small as an eight-foot laboratory bench or half a shelf in a low-temperature freezer. The low cost allows a graduate student to launch a viable startup funded by a small grant or a credit card.

Located at 953 Indiana Street, the space provides laboratories and offices for 30 to 35 startup companies. Sixteen companies have already begun to move in, and eight more will join by the middle of November.

"The QB3@953 life science incubator in San Francisco secures our City as a premier hub for entrepreneurs and innovation," said Mayor Ed Lee. "QB3@953 will keep small biotech companies here in the Innovation Capital of the World by providing critically needed space to start, stay and grow and create jobs while driving innovative science and health discoveries."

"I am super-excited to have a new life-science incubator in District 10," said Supervisor Malia Cohen, the region's civic representative. "I can't wait to see these young entrepreneurs discussing their startups in coffee shops on 22nd Street. Incubators are one of the best ways to bring good jobs to San Francisco."

QB3@953 is a public-private-partnership that brings QB3— a University of California research institute— together with private investors and strategic partners. 

QB3@953 is home to Janssen Labs @QB3—a 5,000 square foot space within the incubator. 

GE, a founding partner, has donated major research equipment that will enable startups to culture cells, purify proteins and DNA, and analyze samples. "Since the creation of QB3, we have celebrated many joint projects, and are now thrilled to participate in the exciting expansion at QB3@953," said Jonathan A. Murray, Managing Director, GE Research Circle Technology.

Each tenant will have access to support including QB3's seed-stage venture fund, Mission Bay Capital; legal and business advisors; assistance in grant writing for small business funds; and access to high-end equipment in facilities on UC San Francisco's Mission Bay campus.

About QB3
QB3 is a cooperative effort among private industry and more than 220 scientists at UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. One of four technology institutes created in 2000 by former California Governor Gray Davis, QB3 has a joint mission of supporting science, driving the California economy and transforming scientific research into public good.

Fundamental to the latter two missions are QB3's efforts to commercialize University of California science by creating mutually beneficial partnerships with industry and supporting innovative entrepreneurs. The effort has led to 54 bioscience startup companies currently in QB3's incubator network. QB3 also operates Mission Bay Capital, an $11.3M seed-stage venture capital fund designed to support UC startups. For more information on QB3, visit www.qb3.org.

SOURCE QB3