Life sciences startups find new home in downtown Phoenix Bioscience Core

Connect Labs by Wexford recently opened on the fifth floor of the 850 PBC building in the Phoenix Bioscience Core. The labs are home to six life sciences companies with more slated to occupy the space in the coming months.

Kevin Brost

By Amy Edelen - Reporter

January 20, 2023, 02:29pm MST

Phoenix-area life sciences companies now have a new home to conduct research and develop products.

Baltimore-based development firm Wexford Science & Technology recently opened Connect Labs by Wexford on the fifth floor of the 850 PBC building in the Phoenix Bioscience Core, a 30-acre life sciences innovation district in downtown.

Leasing activity has already been strong for the 34,500-square-foot space at 850 N. 5th St., which contains wet labs, offices and convening areas designed to spur collaboration among companies, entrepreneurs and university researchers, said Kyle Jardine, vice president and market executive for Wexford Science + Technology.

“We have six companies here on the floor already, with a few more moving in over the next few months,” Jardine said. “We’ll probably be somewhere in the dozen range in the next few months. We think when all is said and done, we’ll have somewhere between 20 to 25 companies on the floor.”

BacVax, Cirrus Bio, ElectraTect, Sense Neuro Diagnostics, International Genomics Consortium and Regenesis Biomedical Inc. are among the companies that have moved into the space, which celebrated its grand opening Thursday.

Erica Tassone, executive director of life sciences for Regenesis Biomedical, said the company relocated from Scottsdale to Connect Labs to collaborate with other scientists and gain greater access to equipment.

Regenesis, a medical device company that makes products to alleviate pain and improve health, is occupying a more than 330-square-foot space at Connect Labs.

"It’s the only place in Arizona that you can have access to those resources. It took us from being siloed in one little lab to having access to scientists and equipment,” Tassone said of Connect Labs. “Just being able to run into someone in the break room and chat about some of the issues you are having … it’s really those sort of, those simple interactions that you would get in an academic setting that you don’t get as a company.”

Connect Labs features a variety of configurations from 250 to 8,000 square feet of lab space and office suites with single desk to 12-desk layouts. Members have access to amenities that include specialized equipment and innovation-related programming.

Wexford partnered with the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation to operate Connect Labs. CEI, which is part of the Maricopa County Community College District, operates an incubator program at the Gateway Community College campus.

Connect Labs fills a need for small companies looking to transition from a university lab or incubator to a larger space, allowing them to scale, said Thomas Osha, executive vice president of Wexford Science & Technology.

“Traditionally, companies like that have had to leave the market. They've had to go to San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle or Boston to find the kind of space and resources that they need,” he said. "So this feels a real gap in the market, allowing companies to collaborate, remain in Phoenix and grow their businesses here.”

Connect Labs also provides an opportunity for life sciences startups in other cities to get a feel for the Phoenix market, Jardine said.

“Whether it's a big company that needs to enter the market for the first time or it's a midsize company that needs a second location from another market — they can land here at Connect Labs, get a feel for the market, and expand in the labs or build a larger space once they are established,” Jardine said.

Wexford planning additional development based on demand

Wexford, which is Arizona State University’s partner on the 227,113-square-foot 850 PBC building, is planning additional development at the Phoenix Bioscience Core that could consist of two towers — known as 843 PBC — spanning a total of 600,000 square feet.

Construction on that development, however, is dependent upon market demand. The existing 850 PBC building is about 70% occupied, Osha said.

“Once that building is occupied, plans can begin for another building phase,” Osha said.

Jardine added that Wexford has a signed letter of intent for the proposed 843 PBC with ASU.

“We’re actively working towards it and we're willing to talk to people that would be interested in that building as well,” he said. “Interest is what's going to drive the next the next step.”

Click on the gallery below for an inside look into the 850 PBC facility:

New Wexford Building at Downtown’s Phoenix Biomedical Campus

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View of Roosevelt Row and midtown Phoenix from the 7th floor of the new Wexford building, 850PBC, on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.