Young Houston biotech companies will, by late next year, have a new partner in Johnson & Johnson.
The pharmaceutical giant said today that that it will house one of its J-Labs, formerly known as Janssen Labs, at the Texas Medical Center in Houston. J&J, which runs such programs in San Diego and Boston, will now plant a flag in Texas where it says its incubator program can boost biotechs innovating in therapies, drug development, or diagnostics.
Richter says J-Labs will be customized to aid in bridging that gap.
Typically, J-Labs contains common business and research areas, as well as chemistry rooms, tissue culture rooms, and wetlabs. The J&J incubator manages the equipment and handles administrative chores like permits and licensing. Companies that are accepted into the program pay rent in exchange for J-Labs’s facilities, mentoring, and connections to top life sciences investors, including J&J itself.
“When the company comes in, they don’t have to focus on anything but the science,” she says.