$4.5 million cost involved for MLSIC set up

Sep 25 2009

The Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC), Ann Arbor SPARK, Greater Wayne Economic Development Corporation and a private foundation have collaborated to create the Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center (MLSIC). MLSIC will connect well-funded, experienced entrepreneurs with business accelerator organizations and start-up life science companies.

"By offering state-of-the-art labs and start-up support in one location, MLSIC will be a catalyst for the growth of biotech and life sciences companies in southeast Michigan," said Michael A. Finney, president of Ann Arbor SPARK. "Access to wet lab space will help emerging life sciences companies conduct critical research, and access established biotech entrepreneurs - MLSIC's anchor tenants - is a resource that can help growing companies overcome obstacles, get good business advice and further propel their growth."

MLSIC is a 57,518 sq. ft. facility that offers office space, in addition to the state-of-the-art laboratory facilities. MEDC, Ann Arbor SPARK, Greater Wayne Economic Development Corporation and a private foundation contributed a combined $4.5 million to purchase the facility from Pfizer.

Current research and innovation taking place at MLSIC includes focused drug development, clinical research organization (CRO), biological processes, and life science services. At its grand opening, MLSIC is home to several companies:

• Algal Scientific Corporation, a biotech company working to develop a system to convert proprietary algal strain into fuel.
• Chef House Catering, a catering and events planning company and the MLSIC cafe operator.
• Distributed Compliance Solutions, LLC, a compliance solutions hosting firm for the small to medium size biotechnology, life science companies and government agencies delivering scalable, economical, and reliable turnkey solutions within state-of-the-art hosting facilities.
• Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., a life sciences company that discovers and develops therapies to prevent, treat, and reverse cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
• Lifetime Nutrition, LLC, a clinic focused on nutrition and lifestyle consulting.
• Lycera Corporation, a biotech firm working to develop small molecule drugs for the treatment of psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and cancer.
• Milad Pharmaceuticals Consulting, a company that provides pharmaceutical consulting for pharmaceutical kinetics/pharmaceutical development.
• Next Generation Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company that focuses on novel Nano and Microplatforms for drug delivery and imaging of cancer and in-licensing promising pharmaceutical and medical device technologies.
• Velesco Pharmaceutical Services, a CRO that provides laboratory services and clinical supplies to smaller pharmaceutical companies.

MLSIC's ongoing operational costs will be funded through a combination of public, private and foundation support.

Business acceleration services offered at MLSIC will include peer-to-peer mentoring that will connect experienced entrepreneurs with start-up ventures. Additional business acceleration services offered will include access to wet lab and research space, funding support and other critical services.