At the beginning of April, the Charlottesville area will enter a new phase in its journey to become a hub for biotech innovation with the launch of the Commonwealth Bio Accelerator. The program will help early-stage biotech companies from the University of Virginia and others in the surrounding region and beyond move from the research stage to market viability.
The CBA is a project of CvilleBioHub and U.Va., with support and collaboration from many others. Founded in 2016, CvilleBioHub has supported more than 100 early-stage startups to date with advice, resources and connections. Opening the CBA boosts this support to a more intensive level, adding office and lab space, shared equipment, mentorship and an in-house community of entrepreneurs. U.Va. is allocating space in the university’s North Fork discovery park with offices, labs and collaborative workspace.
“I believe passionately that this is a core function of a university,” says Michael Lenox, a professor at U.Va.’s Darden School of Business who is helping establish the program. “Our teaching mission is first and foremost, and our research mission is absolutely critical. But the question of how we get our discoveries out into the world is absolutely critical as well.”
Full story: Biotech accelerator launches in Charlottesville – Virginia Business
