Pioneer and King’s College London launch new start-up incubator

Pioneer Group has announced a new partnership with King’s College London to launch a new dedicated start-up incubator in Biotech and Medtech on the South Bank of London.

A total of 95,000 square feet of space at the two sites will serve the needs of university enterprises and early-stage companies in the fields of biotech and medtech, helping them develop new products and technologies that improve patient treatment and care. Will help you make it.

The partnership will revitalize two sites on London’s South Bank, which are currently vacant, to provide wet and dry laboratories, office and co-working space as well as access to critical equipment. The spaces will be configured to support high-tech spin-outs from an early stage.

King’s has a long history of successful technology – the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953 was made possible by Dr. Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray diffraction work at the Institute.

The University’s Institute of Entrepreneurship is focused on producing the next generation of spin-outs, such as See the Signs, an online tool used by GPs to identify patients at risk of cancer; And its Research Management and Innovation Directorate has supported successful spin-out ventures including Quell, Autolus, and Phin Therapeutics. At the local level the ecosystem is furthered by King’s Health Partners, one of only eight academic health science centers in the UK, to improve the commercialization of research and create an advanced therapy and biomedical sciences hub for the benefit of patients focuses on.

Pioneer Group will lead the design, development and operation of the facilities. Once completed, they will provide ambitious companies with flexible space, as well as mentoring and support programmes, access to venture capital and the benefits of Pioneer’s UK-wide ecosystem and expert network.

News of the partnership comes just weeks after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a £650 million pledge to boost the UK’s life sciences sector. Named the “Life Sciences for Growth” package, it will see a commitment of up to £250 million to encourage pension plans to invest in “promising” science and technology companies, while preparing for the future of health. Around £50 million has also been promised for scientific efforts. emergency situation. In addition, £154 million will be used to increase the capacity of the UK’s Biological Data Bank.

Glenn Crocker, Executive Director of Pioneer Group, said: “King’s is recognized internationally for the impact of its research in the life sciences and medicine. It has made some extraordinary advances in the last few years in other areas including immunology and oncology. We are delighted to partner with Kings to House and help them grow their exciting spin out companies. We look forward to working with the extensive team at King’s to make the journey from academia to business reality as smooth and efficient as possible.

Professor Richard Trembeth, Senior Vice President of Health and Life Sciences at King’s College London and Executive Director of King’s Health Partners, said: “We are delighted to welcome Pioneer Group to South Bank as they have a proven track record of providing specialist space record.” -stage spin-outs may flourish. This is a critical need as we drive innovation@kings and are an early pillar for the SC1 Life Sciences Innovation District. SC1 is a collaboration between King’s Health Partners, the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundations, to create partnerships between world-class researchers, clinicians and industry to develop innovative and life-changing technologies and treatments is devoted. to our local and global communities.”

Pioneer Group’s operational asset base includes over four million square feet of high-service office/laboratory and manufacturing space in prime locations across the UK and Ireland including Nottingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin.

The company offers the most comprehensive suite of accelerators and venture builders, helping founders move cutting-edge innovation into visionary ventures of that scale. Pioneer Group’s in-house team supports start-ups and scale-ups and Innovate UK works in partnership with organizations such as AbbVie, Astellas, the Academic Health Science Network and many of the UK’s leading universities.

Pioneer Group also supports early-stage life science companies with investments from its venture capital fund. Since 2015, Pioneer Group has supported over 80 early stage ventures that have raised over £200 million.