UB unveils design concepts for new Innovation Hub business incubator on BNMC

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Today, during an “innovation happens here” event with various invited guests and community members, New York State and the University at Buffalo officially unveiled design plans for a new incubator facility on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, located within a renovated portion of the Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences. This facility is a key component of the Innovation Hub initiative focused on moving more technologies from the Hub partners’ labs, classrooms, and clinics to the market through startup formation and growth.

“The new University at Buffalo Innovation Hub is building on Western New York’s reputation as a globally recognized entrepreneurial center for dynamic life sciences and technology companies,” remarked Empire State Development Acting Commissioner and President & CEO-designate Eric Gertler. “In bringing together a diverse group of innovators, the Hub supports collaboration that will help ensure the region’s continued economic growth.”

“We’re excited to share these designs with our partners and look forward to their feedback, as we refine the plans and advance through construction toward a summer 2020 opening,” said UB Associate Vice President for Economic Development Christina Orsi. “This new incubator space is  a great addition to the hub’s many offerings to support technology startups.”

Designated as a START-UP NY-eligible location, the new incubation and entrepreneur support space will be made available to startups affiliated with UB and Hub partner organizations, including Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Jacobs Institute, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and Kaleida Health. The university plans to utilize various portions of the new facility for entrepreneur support programs, events, education, and other related services.

More specifically, the incubator is intended to offer startups a physical location to interact with like-minded entrepreneurs in a setting that can meet their growth and development needs. Incubator features include affordable and highly flexible workspace, such as individual desks, company offices, and labs, as well as opportunities for direct linkages to fellow professionals, talent, and expertise. The new facility will also offer equipment and technology sharing, and an array of entrepreneur services, support programs, and networking initiatives. The overarching focus of these various offerings is to better connect ideas to action.

All guests attending the unveiling were provided with a sneak peek of the design plans, which have evolved with focus groups throughout the last several months. Building tours were also provided, along with information on incubator co-working membership packages, office and lab space usage fees, and details on access to core services (Genomics & Bioinformatics, Proteomics & Bioanalysis, Computational and Biobanking). To inquire about UB incubator space or services, please visit: http://buffalo.edu/incubators.  

The UB community and its strategic research partners collectively bring more than $412 million in annual research activity, 30,000 students, and more than 3,000-plus faculty and researchers, many of whom are focused on making new discoveries and advances in medical device technology, diagnostics, health care delivery, software applications, materials, imaging, sustainability and other diverse innovative developments.

About the University at Buffalo Innovation hub

Designed to help connect ideas to action and move research innovations from the lab to the marketplace, the Innovation Hub is funded through a $32 million Buffalo Billion II grant commitment from New York State and supports innovation at UB and its leading research partners—including Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Jacobs Institute, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and Kaleida Health.

More information about the Innovation Hub: https://www.buffalo.edu/innovate.html

About the University at Buffalo Business and Entrepreneur Partnership office

The Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships (BEP) team connects innovators with the resources they need to drive impact and bring businesses of all sizes, faculty, researchers and students together to spur innovation, solve challenges, and spark growth. Building academia and industry partnerships enable collaboration on research and development projects, commercialization of new technology, and provides students with opportunities for experiential learning and employment.

In the process, we’re transforming the innovation economy of Western New York, New York State and beyond. Startups grow in UB incubators. Faculty members get funding for breakthrough research. Students engage in hands-on learning and launch careers. Businesses expand by licensing and commercializing technology, testing products in university labs and enriching their potential with an educated, experienced team passionate about developing disruptive technology and bringing it to market.

The University at Buffalo’s investment in fostering local companies will bolster the Buffalo region’s reputation as one of the country’s most entrepreneurial metro areas. The research and work being done in Western New York through these businesses will help solve current and future problems leading to local, national and global impact.

More information about UB BEP: http://www.buffalo.edu/research/business.html