For all the impressive things the HELIX will bring to New Jersey when each of its three buildings open — the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Nokia Bell Labs top the list for many — the most intriguing could be the NJ Innovation Hub, a 30,000-square-foot incubator space in building one that is designed to support life science startups.
The hope is that the next great transformative life science company founded in New Jersey is founded here.
Chris Paladino — the president of DEVCO and the master developer of the HELIX — told BINJE the project is taking a big step toward making that vision the reality with the announcement Thursday that Portal Innovations will design and manage the incubator space.
Portal, selected after a national search, will help attract, mentor and support life sciences startups and entrepreneurs from nearby research universities by providing them with access to fully equipped lab space, seed capital, and introductions to investors and pharma partners.
Portal will manage the operations and provide researchers and entrepreneurs access to world-class amenities including wet and dry lab space, cutting-edge equipment, collaborative working areas and private offices.
Portal also will provide programming to ignite the ecosystem and deliver support to the entrepreneurs and companies working at the HELIX by connecting them to its global network of investors and innovators to advance breakthrough discoveries toward commercialization.
This is a big deal.
“The New Jersey Innovation Hub and The HELIX Innovation District has always been about accelerating discovery and innovation to develop new therapies, medicines, medical devices, and diagnostic technologies that drive expansion of the New Jersey economy and have a global societal impact,” Paladino said. “Portal Innovations is the perfect partner to help create and curate an innovation ecosystem that fosters collaboration among entrepreneurs, start-ups, academic research and leading pharma and biotech companies. We are excited to get to work.”
Portal stood out for two key reasons, Paladino said:
College connection: Portal has a history of creating incubator projects with major universities around the country (Texas, Texas A&M and Baylor in Texas; the University of Chicago in Illinois; Emory and Georgia Tech in Georgia and Brown in Rhode Island), Paladino said.
Unique understanding: Portal started as a venture capital firm, Paladino said, so they have a unique perspective of the process. Not only are they responsible for curating a membership by actually helping select the startups, operating a lab facility, creating the mentoring programs and the collaboration programs that we want to be implemented throughout the entire helix ecosystem, they will invest in a number of the companies they bring in.
The first building of the HELIX is set for a ribbon cutting next spring, but Portal will begin its work in the coming weeks and months as it begins searching for startups.
Paladino said the goal is not only to attract the best startups at area colleges (think Rutgers, Princeton, NJIT) but to find other startups that need next-step help — perhaps it’s a small group working in a small office somewhere in the state or a team of researchers at a major New Jersey life science company feeling it’s time to spin off the project into a company of its own, he said.
“The Innovation Hub is not just researchers looking to move out of their academic space,” he said. “There are a lot of great startups in New Jersey who are in a swing space laboratory off Route One, where they took 250 feet in an old laboratory building just to get started. Now they’re looking to move into a real ecosystem where there is collaboration and state-of-the-art equipment.”
And while the Innovation Hub represents their first entry into the New York City region, Paladino said Portal’s already established connections in the life science industry will help it be ready to go from the start.
CEO John Flavin, who founded the company with his brother, Patrick Flavin, the president, said Portal is eager to get to work.
“Portal plays a critical role in early-stage innovation by partnering with world-class universities and medical systems to provide scientific founders and entrepreneurs with access to state-of-the-art lab space, strategic partners, talent and capital,” he said. “Our goal will always be the same – to act as a pipeline of growth for life sciences startups, enabling faster scientific breakthroughs for patients.
“We’re humbled to be working in New Jersey, a state that has successfully focused on innovation and drug discovery.”
Paladino’s goal is to help make the HELIX Innovation District become the next great startup space in a state with a long history of innovation.
He feels he has the right partner with Portal, which has helped more than 90 innovative startups grow by delivering Crafted Capital that includes seed funding, specialized equipment, lab space, and management expertise for high-potential, early-stage companies.
Paladino summed it up in his own unique way.
“We were not looking to find someone to run a WeWork laboratory,” he said. “We were looking for someone who knew how to build a culture of collaboration to be able to help companies raise capital and be a vibrant part of this entire Helix project. We feel we’ve found that in Portal.”
EDA CEO Tim Sullivan said the potential and promise for the state is evident.
“New Jersey has long been a national leader in the life sciences and innovation industries, and with Portal as a partner in this endeavor, we will help emerging companies bring cutting-edge technologies and inventions to the marketplace and create new jobs and long-term economic growth,” he said.
Gov. Phil Murphy said Portal will help the Helix achieve its ultimate goal: Creating and nurturing the next great New Jersey success story.
“From life sciences to generative AI, we are building the future right here in the Garden State,” he said. “The HELIX is a hub for innovation and research, and the perfect place for Portal Innovations to place roots as they look to further their presence here in New Jersey.
“I look forward to witnessing the impacts of the research and discoveries that will take place in their incubator lab space.”
