The finishing touches are underway on the expansion of Southwest Portland’s Bioscience Incubator.
The current 13,000-square-foot space is growing by another 3,800 square feet downstairs in the same building, at 4640 S.W. Macadam Ave.
The incubator, managed by the Oregon Translational Research and Development Institute, currently houses six companies. Within six weeks of its opening in 2013, it filled up, so demand is definitely there for laboratory and office space in Portland.
“I’m proud we got enough interest that we could expand within a year and a half,” said Jennifer Fox, executive director of OTRADI and the incubator. “The space is allowing us to almost double the number of companies. It’s a great vote of confidence.”
The expansion will accommodate up to four new startups and provide space for two current tenants. One of those, Floragenex, will move into the newly built-out space. Another, AbSci, will take over the additional lab space vacated by Floagenex.
Floragenex, a spinoff of the University of Oregon, specializes in DNA sequencing. AbSci is developing technology that enables scientists to produce antibotides and proteins used in cancer and hormone therapies. New companies joining the incubator are TomegaVax, an OHSU spinoff developing an HIV treatment vaccine, and GeTein, an in-vitro diagnostic company.
Fox said she’d eventually like to add office space to house health IT startups. The incubator recently expanded to Corvallis. Fox would like to open an outpost in Bend as well.
Elizabeth Hayes
Staff Reporter-
Portland Business Journal