BioLabs LA at The Lundquist Institute - an Epicenter for Catalyzing Research - announces three New Startup Company Members

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BioLabs LA at The Lundquist Institute is making Los Angeles an epicenter of bioscience research by enabling local entrepreneurs and startup companies to stay rooted, and thrive, in the LA region. On the heels of a successful launch in September, the state-of-the-art, shared wet-laboratory continues to accept startup residents, including three new innovators: Athos Therapeutics, Triton Biosystems, and ASTA US Inc.

With over $1MM in shared equipment, and access to The Lundquist Institute cores, BioLabs LA empowers early stage life science companies to conduct groundbreaking research without the hassle of complicated leases and expensive equipment purchases. In addition, residents are surrounded by a like-minded community actively involved in collaborations. A total of 11 companies now call BioLabs LA home, with room for up to 20 more.

A few of the residents are highlighted below:

Athos Therapeutics is a late stage preclinical biotech company developing small molecule therapeutics for autoimmune diseases using an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) process. Athos had many options to establish their home base in other cities, such as Boston or San Francisco, but they chose to call BioLabs LA home. Their decision reinforces the fact that the bioscience community in LA is now retaining innovators, fostering the growth of promising startups, and attracting venture capital.

"BioLabs LA is the only shared lab space in Southern California that matched our needs to perform our chemistry, molecular and animal studies…that allows us to expedite our drug development programs and be functional in a very short period of time," said Dimitrios Iliopoulos, PhD MBA, President & CEO of Athos Therapeutics Inc.

Not only is BioLabs LA keeping talent rooted in the region but is also attracting bioscience entrepreneurs from other parts of the country.  Triton Biosystems out of Baylor College in Houston has relocated to  BioLabs LA to capitalize on the opportunity to scale up their core technology developed with support from DARPA.  Triton is developing technologies to decrease the turn-around-times for determining the antibiotic resistance of life-threatening bacteria and fungi from days to just over an hour. This breakthrough will empower doctors to choose the right antibiotics, at the right time, and improve clinical outcomes.

"As a start-up, there are far more "collisions" of the talent pool we need to succeed in LA, which provides that infrastructure on a greater order of magnitude," said Lorenzo D'Amico, CEO of Triton Biosystems.

The impact of BioLabs LA also reaches beyond the United States with the recent acceptance of ASTA US Inc., a division of ASTA Corporation headquartered in Korea. ASTA US has developed an Integrated Diagnostics System (IDSys) platform based on MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry technology. This is a new paradigm for diagnosing diseases including microbial infections and cancers. ASTA intends to take one of their microbial diagnosis platforms, MicroIDSys through FDA approval.

"The LA region has optimal requirements for our US operations in terms of accessibility to Korea via LAX, personnel from leading academia at UCLA & USC, and medical infrastructure for partnerships and trials…serving as a bridgehead to enter the U.S. market," said Hyunjong Kim, CEO of ASTA US, Inc.

The acceptance of these three startups within BioLabs LA at The Lundquist Institute helps to establish LA as a world-class center for biomedical research and development. 

About The Lundquist Institute: "Research with reach"™
The Lundquist Institute is an engine of innovation with a global reach and a 67-year history of improving and saving lives. With its new medical research building and a 15-acre tech park in the planning stages, The Lundquist Institute is poised to serve as a hub for the Los Angeles area's burgeoning biotech scene.
Find out more at https://lundquist.org

About BioLabs
BioLabs is a membership-based network of shared lab facilities located in the nation's key biotech innovation clusters, designed exclusively for high-potential, early-stage life science companies. It offers co-working environments that pair premium, fully equipped and supported lab and space with unparalleled access to capital and industry partners.
Visit https://biolabs.businesscatalyst.com/affiliate/biolabs-la-biomed to learn more, contact the team, and apply for space.

BioLabs LA Contact
Gary Olsem
Site Director
Tel# 1.310.618.6999
[email protected]

SOURCE BioLabs LA

Related Links

https://www.biolabs.io/affiliate/biolabs-la-lundquist