How a new strategy filled Lake Nona business incubator with health tech companies

The University of Central Florida’s Lake Nona Business Incubator specializes in life sciences, but three years ago it didn’t look like a health care hub. 

The incubator, which provides mentorship, coaching and facilities to early-stage companies, grabbed any clients that were interested when it opened in 2018, said Carol Ann Dykes Logue, director of programs and operations for the University of Central Florida's innovation districts and business incubators. However, UCF’s Business Incubation Program staff in late 2019 and early 2020 began a push to change the clientele to companies more in line with the incubator’s life sciences focus. 

This resulted in a nearly-full incubator that hosts companies that can directly benefit from the specialized resources UCF and other Lake Nona facilities offer. Plus, many of the companies are growing and creating local jobs. In fact, incubator companies in Lake Nona employed 10 people and generated $834,500 in revenue in fiscal year 2019, which leaped to 55 employees and $2.9 million in revenue in fiscal year 2021, according to UCF data. 

Innovation 'accelerant'

The incubation program achieved this by shifting the focus from companies geographically in the Lake Nona area to businesses operating in the industries the Lake Nona incubator was made for, said Rob Panepinto, UCF's director of innovation districts strategy and partnerships. It also meant bringing in relevant companies from other UCF incubators, Dykes Logue added. 

For example, Kismet Technologies LLC originally was based at the Research Park Incubator. However, the company in 2020 learned its surface disinfectant spray worked against a number of bacteria and viruses. The company was brought to the Lake Nona incubator so it could utilize the facility’s turn-key biosciences lab space, Dykes Logue said. “Some companies that expressed interest in Lake Nona, we’ve sent them elsewhere. It is resulting in the effect we were anticipating: creating communities of companies that have lots of synergy and lots of opportunities.” 

The incubator now is home to five companies, with a sixth in the onboarding process. Meanwhile, the incubator’s lab space is completely full. In transforming and growing the Lake Nona Incubator, UCF helped support a number of success stories. For example, anti-cancer cell treatment firm CytoSen Therapeutics Inc., one of the incubator’s three graduates since 2018, was bought in 2019 by Netherlands-based Kiadis Pharma NV in a deal worth up to $70 million. 

In addition, Protean BioDiagnostics Inc. relocated 15 employees from Tampa to the Lake Nona Incubator in 2020. Protean since has added five employees with plans to employ 30 by next year. The collaborative environment at the incubator and nearby Lake Nona health care facilities gives the cancer diagnostic company the chance to work with doctors and researchers, said CEO Dr. Anthony Magliocco. 

The successes highlight the importance of adopting a strategy and sticking with it, said Panepinto. “The intent was for us to be additive and an accelerant to what’s happening in Lake Nona. What the community is hoping to get are multiplier effects.” 

Lake Nona startup ecosystem

Support for early-stage companies is important for Central Florida, as those businesses can add local jobs and create economic impact as they scale. These are often high-wage jobs, as the average local tech wage of $89,000 is much higher than metro Orlando's average annual wage of $48,530, according to CBRE and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Startups also create innovative solutions for businesses, help develop a community and make it easier for other new companies to form in the future. 

UCF’s incubator is not the only place supporting innovative early-stage companies in Lake Nona. Other resources include: 

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