Project has potential to unlock cures, create jobs
Being present at the launch of something that has the potential to be truly special is exciting, and that was the feeling many people had last month when they gathered to celebrate the opening of the new city-backed life sciences incubator, community laboratory and science education center.
The new lab, called "Bio, Tech and Beyond," will provide space and equipment to innovators in the life sciences field who have ideas for medical breakthroughs but need the space to conduct experiments that can turn their ideas into reality.
The City of Carlsbad is well positioned to assume a leadership role in the do-it-yourself science movement, because the city is home to more than 100 life sciences firms, including Genoptix, Isis Pharmaceuticals and Life Technologies. The city's life sciences cluster holds more than 600 patents and provides 7,000 well-paying jobs, making it a vibrant and growing segment of the city's economy.
The lab fits with the City of Carlsbad's economic strategy, which focuses on creating local jobs, expanding existing businesses, attracting new businesses and helping local entrepreneurs grow their ventures.
Many professional and citizen scientists have been looking for a place like Bio, Tech and Beyond, which offers inexpensive space and equipment where they can develop their ideas into medicines and technologies that can hatch new companies and give birth to new jobs in Carlsbad.
Located in the 6,000-square-foot former Farmers Insurance auto claims building at 2351 Faraday Ave., Bio Tech and Beyond celebrated its opening on July 12. It will have both wet and dry labs and will not handle disease-causing organisms.
The principal organizers, Joseph Jackson and Kevin Lustig, believe that providing an inexpensive setting where scientists can share their knowledge and develop their ideas will accelerate the pace of discovery.
"We want to lower the barrier to innovation and tap into the latent talent that is out there," said Lustig, founder and CEO of Assay Depot, a San Diego-based company whose products enable scientists to access research services and experts.
In addition to being a place where scientists can start their own companies, "this lab is for people who aren't professional scientists but who always wanted to be," Lustig added, pointing out that Albert Einstein was a citizen scientist. "He developed his theory of relativity while working as a patent clerk."
Lustig said that when he and Jackson began talking about the community lab a year ago, they anticipated signing up a lot of hobbyists. "But what we're seeing is professional scientists who have ideas and want to protect those ideas by developing them in a proprietary space," he said.
Jackson, a prime mover in the open science movement, said Bio, Tech and Beyond is taking advantage of the continually shrinking cost of scientific discovery.
"We are primed to accelerate the pace of innovation in the life sciences, and we believe we are approaching a moment in history where life sciences are about to take off because the cost of certain technologies has come down dramatically," said Jackson. He noted that 80 percent of the lab's equipment has been donated.
The City of Carlsbad believes the community lab/incubator is a good investment, because the cost is small and the potential payoff in new companies and jobs is big. The city is leasing the former auto insurance claims building to Bio, Tech and Beyond for $1 a year for five years, and will provide some services. The city is also responsible for maintaining the building in working order.
In return the lab organizers will supply the scientific equipment and mental fuel that keeps the science engine running (there are a lot of operational costs that they are responsible for that are not represented here, their financial investment dwarfs that of the city's), and raise money through fees, sponsorships, grants, science challenges and crowd funding. The incubator has a goal of launching at least eight companies in the first two years. It also plans to sign up 50 members and conduct science education.
We look forward to the lab cementing Carlsbad's standing as a life-sciences stronghold, and delivering a payoff in future cures, companies and jobs.
Being present at the launch of something that has the potential to be truly special is exciting, and that was the feeling many people had last month when they gathered to celebrate the opening of the new city-backed life sciences incubator, community laboratory and science education center.
The new lab, called "Bio, Tech and Beyond," will provide space and equipment to innovators in the life sciences field who have ideas for medical breakthroughs but need the space to conduct experiments that can turn their ideas into reality.
The City of Carlsbad is well positioned to assume a leadership role in the do-it-yourself science movement, because the city is home to more than 100 life sciences firms, including Genoptix, Isis Pharmaceuticals and Life Technologies. The city's life sciences cluster holds more than 600 patents and provides 7,000 well-paying jobs, making it a vibrant and growing segment of the city's economy.
The lab fits with the City of Carlsbad's economic strategy, which focuses on creating local jobs, expanding existing businesses, attracting new businesses and helping local entrepreneurs grow their ventures.
Many professional and citizen scientists have been looking for a place like Bio, Tech and Beyond, which offers inexpensive space and equipment where they can develop their ideas into medicines and technologies that can hatch new companies and give birth to new jobs in Carlsbad.
Located in the 6,000-square-foot former Farmers Insurance auto claims building at 2351 Faraday Ave., Bio Tech and Beyond celebrated its opening on July 12. It will have both wet and dry labs and will not handle disease-causing organisms.
The principal organizers, Joseph Jackson and Kevin Lustig, believe that providing an inexpensive setting where scientists can share their knowledge and develop their ideas will accelerate the pace of discovery.
"We want to lower the barrier to innovation and tap into the latent talent that is out there," said Lustig, founder and CEO of Assay Depot, a San Diego-based company whose products enable scientists to access research services and experts.
In addition to being a place where scientists can start their own companies, "this lab is for people who aren't professional scientists but who always wanted to be," Lustig added, pointing out that Albert Einstein was a citizen scientist. "He developed his theory of relativity while working as a patent clerk."
Lustig said that when he and Jackson began talking about the community lab a year ago, they anticipated signing up a lot of hobbyists. "But what we're seeing is professional scientists who have ideas and want to protect those ideas by developing them in a proprietary space," he said.
Jackson, a prime mover in the open science movement, said Bio, Tech and Beyond is taking advantage of the continually shrinking cost of scientific discovery.
"We are primed to accelerate the pace of innovation in the life sciences, and we believe we are approaching a moment in history where life sciences are about to take off because the cost of certain technologies has come down dramatically," said Jackson. He noted that 80 percent of the lab's equipment has been donated.
The City of Carlsbad believes the community lab/incubator is a good investment, because the cost is small and the potential payoff in new companies and jobs is big. The city is leasing the former auto insurance claims building to Bio, Tech and Beyond for $1 a year for five years, and will provide some services. The city is also responsible for maintaining the building in working order.
In return the lab organizers will supply the scientific equipment and mental fuel that keeps the science engine running (there are a lot of operational costs that they are responsible for that are not represented here, their financial investment dwarfs that of the city's), and raise money through fees, sponsorships, grants, science challenges and crowd funding. The incubator has a goal of launching at least eight companies in the first two years. It also plans to sign up 50 members and conduct science education.
We look forward to the lab cementing Carlsbad's standing as a life-sciences stronghold, and delivering a payoff in future cures, companies and jobs.