Pfizer Opens Call for Proposals for Start-ups to Apply for LabCentral Residency

Pfizer will award "Golden Tickets" to up-to two promising startups*

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Jun 26, 2019, 08:30 ET

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Pfizer Inc. opens a call for interested U.S. startup companies to submit non-confidential proposals for a Pfizer-sponsored LabCentral "Golden Ticket." A Golden Ticket will provide one year of bench space for one scientist at LabCentral, including the benefits of shared infrastructure and services. The application and complete program terms can be found at www.pfizer.com/GoldenTicket.

"Pfizer is committed to advancing the most innovative science and we are excited to continue enabling creative opportunities for startups to pursue innovative research," said Morris Birnbaum, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), Internal Medicine Research Unit, Pfizer, Inc. "We look forward to rewarding up to two early-stage companies with "Golden Tickets" to pursue promising research that will hopefully catalyze breakthrough therapies that change patients' lives."

LabCentral is a first-of-its-kind shared laboratory space located in the heart of Cambridge, Mass., proximate to Pfizer's campus in Kendall Square, and is designed as a launchpad for high-potential life sciences and biotech startups. As a LabCentral platinum sponsor, Pfizer may transfer up to two Golden Tickets a year to qualifying U.S. startup companies.

LabCentral provides fully equipped, permitted, and supported lab space for biomedical research, plus programming and unmatched networking opportunities to help start-ups advance their science and build their companies. Each Golden Ticket represents a spot on a priority waitlist for residency and a voucher for prepaid rent for one reserved bench for one scientist on the first floor of LabCentral's shared laboratory for one year, including the benefit of LabCentral's shared infrastructure and services (such as conference rooms, permits, shared equipment and facilities, participation in LabCentral training modules, seminars, etc.).

"We applaud Pfizer's ongoing support of LabCentral and the entrepreneurial culture that makes Kendall Square a hotbed of innovation" said Johannes Fruehauf, M.D., Ph.D., cofounder and president, LabCentral. "The Golden Tickets will provide the high potential companies with an invaluable experience to work alongside other entrepreneurs and startups in the pursuit of groundbreaking science."

This is the second year that Pfizer will be awarding LabCentral Golden Tickets. Pfizer selected Tevard Biosciences and QurAlis as the Golden Ticket Program winners in 2018.

"LabCentral plays a vital role in keeping Kendall Square at the forefront of entrepreneurial innovation in the biotech industry," added Glenn Larsen, Ph.D., President and CEO of Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals, a LabCentral 'Graduate' company and current resident of LabCentral 610 at Pfizer's Kendall Square campus, a space that houses six 'next stage' start-ups who have aged out of LabCentral. "Golden Tickets are a great entry point for cutting-edge startups to benefit from the uniquely collaborative and supportive environment that LabCentral offers."

Interested companies meeting the program eligibility requirements can submit an application for consideration by August 23, 2019. Application forms and complete program terms can be found at www.pfizer.com/GoldenTicket. A select number of finalist companies will be invited to present their proposals at Pfizer in August or September with winners announced thereafter.

* No purchase or payment of money is necessary to apply or win. At Pfizer's discretion, up to two Golden Tickets for waitlist priority and a voucher for one year of prepaid rent for a reserved bench for one scientist at LabCentral may be awarded. Use of Golden Ticket subject to conditions including space availability, approval of LabCentral, and a separate agreement with LabCentral. Pfizer is not obligated to award any Golden Tickets. Submit a non-confidential application between 6/26/19 (2:00 pm EDT) and 8/23/19 (11:59 pm EDT). Open only to U.S. startup companies (excluding Arizona) who have raised less than $7.5 million in cumulative capital funding and do not have more than $3 million in trailing 12-month revenue. Other eligibility restrictions apply. Limit one application per entity. This is only a summary of the complete terms and conditions. For official terms, including judging criteria and how to apply, visit www.pfizer.com/GoldenTicket. Void where prohibited. Program conducted by Pfizer Inc., 1 Portland St., Cambridge, MA 02139.

Working together for a healthier world^®
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products. Our global portfolio includes medicines and vaccines as well as many of the world's best-known consumer health care products. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @Pfizer and @Pfizer_News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.

About LabCentral (www.labcentral.org; twitter @labcentral)
A private, non-profit institution, LabCentral was founded in 2013 as a launchpad for high-potential life sciences and biotech start-ups. Operating a total of 100,000 square-feet in the heart of Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass., LabCentral offers fully permitted laboratory and office space for as many as 70 start-ups comprising approximately 500 scientists and entrepreneurs. More information is available at www.labcentral.org.

Media Contacts:
For Pfizer: Beth Preston
617-519-6065
[email protected]

For LabCentral: Lindsay Crockett
617-863-3680
[email protected]

Doug Broad
[email protected]

SOURCE LabCentral