At Lab2Launch, Emory’s entrepreneurs explore biomedical innovations in therapeutics, diagnostics, imaging, and more.
Lab2Launch is an incubator program that equips Emory-affiliated start-ups with affordable, adaptable co-working and wet lab spaces. Joining Lab2Launch allows ventures to retain affordable access to resources like the Emory Integrated Core Facilities and Emory Healthcare. Scientist-engineers use the incubator to fast-track ventures and generate proof of concept as they scale. Residents can also leverage the rich business development insight of Biolocity, a joint Emory and Georgia Tech-based sister program.
“The collaborative environment fostered by Lab2Launch not only enhances research capabilities but also accelerates the path to commercialization,” says Wilbur Lam (pediatrics and biomedical engineering).
"As researchers, we tend to focus on writing papers and grants and forget about the importance of commercialization. However, making biomedical innovations publicly available is the last stage of translation and the only way to solve problems in the real world at scale.”
Celebrating milestones
As Lab2Launch turns one year old, two residents have yielded notable accomplishments.
Cambium Oncology recently received a federally funded $2.5 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. Co-founder Edmund Waller (hematology and medical oncology) credits Lab2Launch’s resources with providing a critical advantage. “Lab2Launch provided the soil for the seed of Cambium Oncology to sprout,” says Waller. “Having space in a fully equipped start-up incubator made Cambium Oncology competitive for a recently awarded $2.5 million SBIR grant, with a fundable score on a second grant application."
Publications featuring Cambium Oncology in Blood Journal, Nature Communications, and PLOS One—among others—credit Emory with providing cost-effective services and equipment. These include the Emory Vaccine Center, the Emory Integrated Genomics Core, the Emory Flow Cytometry Core, the Integrated Cellular Imaging Core, and more. Additionally, Emory provided Cambium Oncology with an exclusive worldwide license for patents related to their novel technology.
"Having space in a fully equipped start-up incubator made Cambium Oncology competitive for a recently awarded $2.5 million SBIR grant, with a fundable score on a second grant application." - Edmund Waller
Incubators and residents thrive symbiotically: the incubator encourages resident growth, helping graduates secure placement in new spaces. Then, graduates support future innovators through an expanding alumni network. OncoSpherix is now residing in the Portal Innovations labs at Science Square, making it the first Lab2Launch resident to graduate. OncoSpherix was founded as the result of a multi-year research program that Erwin Van Meir initiated while he was at Emory University School of Medicine.
Bringing new therapies closer to the clinic
As manager of Lab2Launch, Kathryn Pellegrini facilitates the bridge between innovation and commercialization. She says the incubator’s ultimate success is making discoveries and championing new technologies that help people live healthier, longer lives.
Lab2Launch is housed within Emory's Health Science Research Building-II (HSRB-II). The building provides a thriving ecosystem for transforming ideas into health care advancements. Waller adds, “We appreciate the opportunity to grow within the Emory community and to be neighbors in HSRB-II with other exciting start-up ventures.”
