LABORATORY SPACE AT THE EPICENTRE, HAVERHILL, PROVES A WINNER AND MORE IS ON THE WAY
The laboratory space at the EpiCentre in Haverhill has proved so successful, with all 16 lab benches now let that the rest of the ground floor offices are to be converted into additional lab space to meet demand.
Jaynic, the owner of the EpiCentre, advised by the building’s managers Oxford Innovation, has decided to convert a further six rooms into dedicated laboratory space and has already pre-let two of the rooms.
Nic Rumsey, managing director of Jaynic, said: “We are investing in more laboratory space because there has been a substantial upsurge in life science and bio-tech research and, of course, the Cambridgeshire area is at the leading edge of this trend.”
The EpiCentre has already attracted a number of start-up and scale-up life science businesses including CodiKoat, Halo Labs, Biotix, TA Instruments, Analog and Amphista Therapeutics. CodiKoat’s growth trajectory evidences the demand for space. It is a start-up, pioneering an anti-viral coating technology that has attracted the interest of UK Central Government in fighting the COVID pandemic and other viral infections. It originally took a single bench in the centre’s shared laboratory space, but has grown rapidly, employing world class scientists and has expanded to take a dedicated laboratory facility of 6 benches as well as a large office to house its full team.
Centre manager Kelly Boosey, said: “The laboratory space provision has been a huge success at the EpiCentre, hence our desire to provide more space in the building for life science and bio-tech businesses, not only offering all-inclusive benches in shared space but also to support the next step of the customer journey by having some dedicated lab space on-site.
The significant take up of space is in line with Central Government thinking on the life science sector. Last year, UK life sciences companies raised a record-breaking total of £6.6bn in the first 10 months of 2021 creating a solid foundation to support the Life Science Vision launched by the government last summer, with the target of making the United Kingdom the leading global hub for life sciences.
The EpiCentre is all about supporting small and medium sized businesses to scale and grow. Oxford Innovation offers services beyond the facilities and space which includes lab, office, co-working plus meeting rooms. The business support provided by its dedicated Innovation Director Babita Devi, and within the strong the eco-system it is building, makes all the difference. It provides additional guidance, signposting connections and can even go as far as providing 1-2-1 coaching and mentoring.
