JLABS comes to Toronto

By Shawn Lawrence

ONTARIO

JLaBs @ toronto

OnTARIO’S LIFE SCIEnCE STARTUPS HAVE A nEW PLACE TO CALL HOME

Things just got a little more crowded on the 13th floor of the MaRS West Tower as Johnson & Johnson Innovation has officially opened the doors to its newest startup incubator, JLABS @ Toronto.

The arrival of JLABS on the Ontario life science scene was greeted with tremendous fanfare, as approximately 2,000 people jammed the entire first floor of the MaRS building as part of a spectacular launch event held on May 11, 2016. Many came out to see the lucky 22 companies selected to be its first residents, while others wanted a first glimpse inside the state of the art facility. While not all were lucky enough to get the grand tour, those who did, got more than they bargained for, learning that there’s plenty of substance behind the hype around this 40,000-square-foot life sciences incubator.

As JLABS @ Toronto site head Rebecca Yu explains, the companies taking up residency are about to step into a whole new world. Having worked as director, strategic health technology assessment in the Government Affairs Department at Janssen (Canada), a division of Johnson & Johnson, prior to stepping into her new role with JLABS @ Toronto in December, 2015, she’s witnessed firsthand how the JLABS model works and why it has been so successful in other markets.

“The idea is for a startup company to come into the space and have everything they need so they can focus their efforts on what’s truly important, taking their scientific discoveries forward” she says. She adds that tenant companies benefit from the capital-efficient and resourcerich environment that JLABS provides.

“For us it’s about giving companies the opportunity to accelerate the development of their technologies by making sure everything, including the physical and operational side of the lab is taken care of and that their business development needs are met.”

According to Yu, these are the founding principles behind all of Johnson & Johnson’s JLABS incubation sites across North America. Among them are sites in San Diego (flagship), San Francisco, South San Francisco, Boston and Houston. Together, they house more than 120 early-stage companies advancing bio/pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer and digital health programs. Within each of these facilities, companies share lab space and offices, work in modular lab suites and have access to scientific, industry and capital funding experts.

This mix of companies is no accident adds Yu, “That’s how we like to see the ecosystem. By having companies with different backgrounds or representing different sub sectors together, working in the same space, they can actually learn from each other and co-create value.”

Yu believes both the formula and the success enjoyed at other JLABS sites will easily be replicated at JLABS @ Toronto.

To help run the facility, Yu has an inhouse operations team that includes both a manager and an office leader. The team oversees everything at the site ensuring that the existing infrastructure and state of the art equipment is in working order. They also train tenant companies on how to use this equipment, which includes such things as cell culture, western blot and cell imaging, multimode plate readers, cell sorters and a host of othe analyzers. Also, resident companies have a device and digital prototype lab with even more highly specialized tools at their disposal. As an added caveat, JLABS @ Toronto tenants will get to share a receptionist who is able to take calls on their behalf and manage their meetings with potential customers and investors.

In terms of user fees, they are customized to the services provided or required.

Further on the physical aspects of the lab, resident companies have flexible options to lease as much lab space as they need. As mentioned, the labs themselves are modular and scalable. Users can remove or add benches and even walls as they see fit. It’s all about accommodating the client company’s needs, Yu explains.

“You can come in small and grow as your company grows. It’s very customizable. In San Francisco for example, we thought originally we could host about 40 to 50 companies, but in the end we maxed out at 27 simply because companies took up larger individual spaces,” says Yu.

And if privacy is a tenant’s priority, JLABS @ Toronto does offer options here as well.

“There are certain labs that are enclosed for example, and likewise, they have lockers and cabinets to lock away and secure their belongings at the end of every work day,” she says.

But if Yu has one recommendation, it’s that resident companies should still take full advantage of the open concept labs and workstations.

“What we find with the open concept model is that tenants are actually talking to each other and discussing what they are each doing and finding common ground. They come into this space to cocreate and co-think, and hopefully come out with a new product as a result of this convergence.”

Then there are the other perks beyond the physical elements to being part of JLABS @ Toronto. These include unrivaled

access to unique educational programs and networking events that have both a scientific and business focus.

For example, there are workshops for resident companies with external investors from both within and outside of the region. This includes a funding series with venture capitalists, granting agencies, corporate ventures and other corporations. Likewise there are sessions scheduled externally with other industry players and experts as well as internally with Johnson & Johnson staff.

“These are the huge value adds of our program, having the capability of bringing in these external folks, including our competitors coupled with those that we bring in directly from Johnson & Johnson to speak with entrepreneurs, educate and mentor them,” Yu says.

She adds that these mentors can offer insight into what works and what doesn’t when building up a company.

“It could be as simple as understanding what the right business model is for a specific technology, and if a business model is going to make sense. It could be something like where to look for investments and resources or finding ways to broker relationships. It’s a very robust curriculum and I think it’s invaluable,” she says.

Moreover, resident companies at JLABS @ Toronto also have the opportunity to collaborate with IBM Canada to access its entrepreneurship programs and services, including IBM Watson cognitive business technology and IBM Bluemix cloud-based development platform.

It all ties into perhaps the most important key differentiator of JLABS, its no strings attached motto.

On this front Yu is quite clear, selected companies remain independent and Johnson & Johnson does not claim any rights or affiliation.

“We don’t own any of the IP and we don’t have first right. There’s no obligation for Johnson & Johnson to sign with the company, and there’s also no obligation for them to sign with us. We only deal with non-confidential information, and over and above that, we actually proactively introduce our companies to our other pharma and medical devices companies, so that we cultivate relationships and get these companies through to the commercialization stage.”

That’s not to say partnerships can’t or won’t happen, but rather, it’s just that it’s more likely that the majority of resident companies will remain independent. For example, Yu estimates that at its existing six JLABS incubators, Johnson & Johnson has collaboration partnerships with only about 30 per cent of the companies.

For JLABS @ Toronto itself and reaching full capacity, it’s expected that the site will be even larger than the ones in Boston, Houston and San Francisco. Maximum capacity is pegged at 50 companies, but that number is a moving target as it will depend on the footprint size of the companies taking up residence. Yu does say proudly that JLABS @ Toronto has seen the fastest company uptake of all the global sites.

“Given we had a very short runway and we didn’t start the selection process until November of last year, there’s been an incredible amount of interest in coming into our space,” she says.

On how the first 22 companies where chosen, Yu says that applicants were reviewed by a selection committee made up of Johnson & Johnson experts from its R&D and Innovation Center.

“They looked at whether they were developing a transformational technology, if it met an unmet need and if it was compelling science. They also looked at the credibility of the company itself, and the entrepreneur. To a lesser extent, they looked at the funding they had available and if there were investors already supporting the company. At the end of the day, we wanted companies that could come in and truly benefit from the right coaching, mentoring and support we provide. That for us is much more important than the numbers.”

With its present selections as well as future choices, Yu says JLABS @ Toronto will focus in on companies who represent Toronto’s research strengths.

“It’s like that with all our JLABS sites. For example in Houston they have the MD Anderson Institute, so oncology is big focus area. I’d say the areas of focus here will include neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease and immunology. On the medical device side: diagnostics, surgical devices, and orthopedics. And on the consumer health side, we’ll be looking at oral and digital health companies. These are all areas that Toronto has a significant presence in.”

It is the strength in all these areas that Yu believes drove Johnson & Johnson’s decision to establish this on-the-ground research presence here. It’s also why the new JLABS facility has struck partnerships with six hospitals in Toronto, including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Sinai Health System, St. Michael’s Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and University Health Network.

“I think it’s fairly clear we’re coming into an area where you’ve got a huge critical mass and the science here is incredible. You’ve got the University of Toronto who has spun out a number of our resident companies, the MaRS Discovery District, the MaRS building itself which houses everything, and all the hospitals all within walking distance. And of course the financial centre of Canada is only a subway stop away.”

She adds that both Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Canada have strong existing ties here, having been very active in the past on the collaboration front. They are well aware of the environment. Moreover, in terms of planting the seeds for JLABS @ Toronto, the Ontario government with its $19.4 million commitment made through its Strategic Partnerships Stream of the Jobs and Prosperity Fund certainly played a role.

“And it’s not just the financial piece, but also the way they pitched Ontario as a place to do business,” she says.

The metrics that will determine if this initiative is a success have already been set out.

ONTARIO

SeLeCTed CoMPAnieS To Be The firST reSidenTS of JLABS @ ToronTo ONTARIO

JLABS @ ToronTo reSidenT

6biotech

Abcombi Biosciences inc.

Biotagenics

Cogniciti inc.

dnAstack

iGY immune Technologies & Life Sciences

immune Biosolutions

KalGene Pharmaceuticals

Ketogen Pharma inc.

Proteorex Therapeutics inc.

realist Pharma

Seegene

SYnG Pharmaceuticals

Translatum Medicus inc. (TMi)

Ubiquitech

App4independence*

AVroBio*

Chestnut Pharmaceuticals*

nanovista inc.*

neutun*

PinPress*

Suncayr* ABoUT The CoMPAnY

Accelerating the discovery of new drugs through the creation of technologies designed for high-value data acquisition that mimic complex in vivo biology.

Providing technology platforms that can be tailored and applied to any disease treatable via prophylactic vaccination.

A microbiomics platform company developing novel therapies and diagnostics targeting intestinal microbial dysbiosis in inflammatory bowel disease.

Reducing the time and cost of volunteer recruitment for clinical trials through a science-validated online test for brain health.

Developing a cloud-based platform for genomics data analysis.

Designing and manufacturing technology and processes to strengthen and supplement the body’s natural immune system against broad and targeted bacterial, viral and autoimmune ailments.

Harnessing chicken antibodies to overcome challenges of anti-GPCR antibody generation and providing new antibody candidates for difficult druggable targets.

Developing a new therapeutic to bring back the memory of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Maximizing the therapeutic potential of the ketogenic diet to develop a new class of anti-epileptic medications.

Unlocking a treasure trove of new drug targets by targeting protein complexes in human diseases with a next generation small molecule platform technology.

Developing oncology-focused therapeutics that treat a wide range of cancers with its main programs being REAL-1 (a “next gen CAR-T” cell therapy) and REAL-2 (NCE cancer vaccines), both of which target >10 highly prevalent tumor markers.

Proprietary priming chemistries that make multiplexed PCR easy, effective and affordable.

Developing the first diagnostic blood test for endometriosis and an innovative non-hormonal therapy.

Dedicated to saving eyesight with a first-in-class immunomodulator therapy for patients with “dry” Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

An early-stage drug discovery company focusing on identifying and developing next generation cancer therapies.

A4i is a digital health innovation company that provides clinically proven mobile interventions to significantly enhance treatment engagement and quality of life for individuals with psychosis and other major mental health challenges.

An innovative gene therapy company focused on immune-oncology and rare diseases.

Developing novel therapeutics for metastatic cancers employing a comprehensive approach to reverse the metastatic state of tumor cells.

Achieving high-precision personalized cancer therapy with multimodal nano imaging agents: lead application in image-guided surgery.

Creators of a seizure tracking tool that uses devices patients already own and wear.

Regular molds have one shape; PinPress is a shape-shifting tool that gives you a thousand molds in one.

Helping people enjoy the sun with a smart indicator of ultraviolet light that changes colour to warn people of their sun exposure.

“Whether it’s companies coming in and we play a role in facilitating their success, bringing jobs and investments to Ontario, or seeing collaborations, especially if that collaboration is with Johnson & Johnson, ultimately our end goal is to the technology, whether it be a drug, device or some other products to the patient who has the unmet need. If we can do that, then we’ll know we’ve been successful.”

Based on how things went for JLABS @ Toronto on opening night, they’re off to a good start. To see this story online visit http://biotechnologyfocus.ca/ jlabs-toronto-ontarios-lifescience-startups-have-a-newplace-to-call-home