{"666363":{"#nid":"666363","#data":{"type":"news","title":"BioSpark Labs Igniting Innovation for Biotech Startups","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERyan Lawler realized early on in her academic career that a scientist with a great idea can potentially change the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBut I didn\u2019t realize the role that real estate can play in that,\u201d said Lawler, general manager of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.biosparklabs.com\/\u0022\u003EBioSpark Labs\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 the collaborative, shared laboratory environment taking shape at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sciencesquareatlanta.com\/\u0022\u003EScience Square at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESitting adjacent to the Tech campus and formerly known as Technology Enterprise Park, Science Square is being reactivated and positioned as a life sciences research destination. The 18-acre site is abuzz with new construction, as an urban mixed-use development rises from the property.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, positioned literally on the ground floor of all this activity is BioSpark Labs, located in a former warehouse, fortuitously adjacent to the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gcmiatl.com\/\u0022\u003EGlobal Center for Medical Innovation\u003C\/a\u003E. It\u2019s one of the newer best-kept secrets in the Georgia Tech research community.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBioSpark exists because the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/realestate.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Real Estate Office\u003C\/a\u003E, \u0026nbsp;led by Associate Vice President Tony Zivalich, recognized the need of this kind of lab space. Zivalich and his team have overseen the ideation, design, and funding of the facility, partnering with Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures, as well as the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University\u003C\/a\u003E, and the core facilities of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/bio\u0022\u003EPetit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are in the middle of a growing life sciences ecosystem, part of a larger vision in biotech research,\u201d said Lawler, who was hired on to manage the space, bringing to the job a wealth of experience as a former research scientist and lab manager with a background in molecular and synthetic biology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearchers\u2019 Advocate\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBioSpark was designed to be a launch pad for high-potential entrepreneurs. It provides a fully equipped and professionally operated wet lab, in addition to a clean room, meeting and office space, to its current roster of clients, five life sciences and biotech startup, a number certain to increase \u2013 because BioSpark is undergoing a dramatic expansion that will include 11 more labs (shared and private space), an autoclave room, equipment and storage rooms.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe want to provide the necessary services and support that an early-stage company needs to begin lab operations on day one,\u201d said Lawler, who has put together a facility with $1.7 million in lab equipment. \u201cI understand our clients\u2019 perspective, I understand researchers and their experiments, and their needs, because I have first-hand proficiency in that world. So, I can advocate on their behalf.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECO2 incubators, a spectrophotometer, a biosafety cabinet, a fume hood, a -80\u00b0 freezer, an inverted microscope, and the autoclave are among the wide range of apparatus. Plus, a virtual treasure trove of equipment is available to BioSpark clients off-site through the Core Facilities of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience on the Georgia Tech campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of the unique things about us is, we\u2019re agnostic,\u201d Lawler said. \u201cThat is, our startups can come from anywhere. We have companies that have grown out of labs at Georgia State, Alabama State, Emory, and Georgia Tech. And we have interest from entrepreneurs from San Diego, who are considering relocating people from mature biotech markets to our space.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGround Floor Companies\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/marvin-whiteley\u0022\u003EMarvin Whiteley\u003C\/a\u003E wants to help humans win the war against bacteria, and he has a plan, something he\u2019s been cooking up for about 10 years, which has now manifested in his start-up company, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.generalinception.com\/synthbiome\u0022\u003ESynthBiome\u003C\/a\u003E, one of the five startups based at BioSpark Labs.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe can discover a lot of antibiotics in the lab but translating them into the clinic has been a major challenge \u2013 antibiotic resistance is the main reason,\u201d said Whiteley, professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech. \u201cSomething might work in a test tube easily enough and it might work in a mouse. But the thing is, bacteria know that mice are\u0026nbsp;different -\u0026nbsp;and and so bacteria act differently in mice than in humans.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESynthBiome was built to help accelerate drug discovery. With that goal in mind, Whiteley and has team set out to develop a better, more effective preclinical model. \u201cWe basically learned to let the bacteria tell us what it\u2019s like to be in a human,\u201d Whiteley said. \u201cSo, we created a human environment in a test tube.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhiteley has said a desire to help people is foundational to his research. He wants to change how successful therapies are made. The same can be said for Dr. Pooja Tiwari, who launched her company, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arnavbiotech.com\/\u0022\u003EArnav Biotech\u003C\/a\u003E, to develop mRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines. Arnav Biotech also serves as a contract researcher and manufacturer, helping other researchers and companies interested in exploring mRNA in their work.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere are only a handful of people who have deep knowledge of working in mRNA research, and this limits the access to it\u201d said Tiwari, a former postdoctoral researcher at Georgia Tech and Emory. \u201cWe\u2019d like to democratize access to mRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines by developing accessible and cost-effective mRNA therapeutics for global needs\u201d.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EArnav \u2013 which has RNA right there in the name \u2013 in Sanskrit means \u2018ocean.\u2019 An ocean has no discernible borders, and Tiwari is working to build a biotech company that eliminates borders in equitable access to mRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWith this mission in mind, Arnav is developing mRNA-based, broad-spectrum antivirals as well as vaccines against pandemic potential viruses before the next pandemic hits. Arnav has recently entered in a collaboration with Sartorius BIA Separations, a company based on Slovenia, to advance their mRNA pipeline. While building its own mRNA therapeutics pipeline, Arnav is also helping other scientists explore mRNA as an alternative therapeutic and vaccine platform through its contract services.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think of the vaccine scientist who makes his medicine using proteins, but would like to explore the mRNA option,\u201d Tiwari posits. \u201cMaybe he doesn\u2019t want to make the full jump into it. That\u2019s where we come in, helping to drive interest in this field and help that scientist compare his traditional vaccines to see what mRNA vaccines looks like.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShe has all the equipment and instruments that she needs at BioSpark Labs and was one of the first start-ups to put down roots there. So far, it\u2019s been the perfect partnership, Tiwari said, adding, \u201cIt kind of feels like BioSpark and Arnav are growing up together.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELocated in the 18-acre Science Square campus, BioSpark is designed to be a launch pad for high-potential entrepreneurs. It provides a fully equipped and professionally operated wet lab, in addition to a clean room, meeting and office space, five life sciences and biotech startups \u2014 and more.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Located in the 18-acre Science Square campus, BioSpark is designed to be a launch pad for high-potential entrepreneurs."}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2023-03-02 15:34:40","changed_gmt":"2023-08-07 13:45:07","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-03-02T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2023-03-02T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"666358":{"id":"666358","type":"image","title":"BioSpark Trio","body":null,"created":"1677770803","gmt_created":"2023-03-02 15:26:43","changed":"1677790719","gmt_changed":"2023-03-02 20:58:39","alt":"","file":{"fid":"251966","name":"BioSpark Trio.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/BioSpark%20Trio.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/BioSpark%20Trio.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":852615,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/BioSpark%20Trio.jpg?itok=RzhZoEkx"}},"666360":{"id":"666360","type":"image","title":"Ryan Lawler","body":null,"created":"1677770875","gmt_created":"2023-03-02 15:27:55","changed":"1677770875","gmt_changed":"2023-03-02 15:27:55","alt":"","file":{"fid":"251958","name":"Ryan4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Ryan4.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Ryan4.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":689675,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Ryan4.jpg?itok=v7Wrz02L"}},"666361":{"id":"666361","type":"image","title":"Marvin Whiteley","body":null,"created":"1677770912","gmt_created":"2023-03-02 15:28:32","changed":"1677770912","gmt_changed":"2023-03-02 15:28:32","alt":"","file":{"fid":"251959","name":"Marvin.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Marvin.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Marvin.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":315378,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Marvin.jpg?itok=q2N1QGHN"}},"666362":{"id":"666362","type":"image","title":"Pooja Tiwari","body":null,"created":"1677770944","gmt_created":"2023-03-02 15:29:04","changed":"1677770944","gmt_changed":"2023-03-02 15:29:04","alt":"","file":{"fid":"251960","name":"Pooja.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Pooja.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Pooja.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":662046,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Pooja.jpg?itok=JZNTx_cd"}}},"media_ids":["666358","666360","666361","666362"],"groups":[{"id":"620089","name":"Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection (CMDI)"},{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"655285","name":"GT Commercialization"},{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"187582","name":"go-ibb"},{"id":"191647","name":"BioSpark Labs"},{"id":"166994","name":"startups"},{"id":"9565","name":"biotech companies"},{"id":"985","name":"mRNA"},{"id":"176629","name":"antibiotic resisistance"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"192250","name":"cos-microbial"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39461","name":"Manufacturing, Trade, and Logistics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWriter: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}