Incubators have long been viewed as crucial to jump-start the development of tech, life science and other companies.
But until 2004, Los Angeles County had only one bioscience incubator with lab space, a small facility in Chatsworth that recently went defunct.
Universities had lab facilities, but those were mostly reserved for students and faculty researchers. Outside companies were generally not invited.
Then in 2004, the Pasadena Bioscience Collaborative, now known as the Pasadena Bio Collaborative Incubator, opened its doors, backed by an initial infusion of state funds. It was only a 500-square-foot lab at first, but it represented the first of a new generation of incubators with the aim of giving biotech startups a place to develop and test their therapeutic technologies before either finding buyers or getting Food and Drug Administration approvals to bring their therapies to market. Read more...