Biotech accelerator launches in Charlottesville

At the beginning of April, the Charlottesville area will enter a new phase in its journey to become a hub for biotech innovation with the launch of the Commonwealth Bio Accelerator. The program will help early-stage biotech companies from the University of Virginia and others in the surrounding region and beyond move from the research stage to market viability.

The CBA is a project of CvilleBioHub and U.Va., with support and collaboration from many others. Founded in 2016, CvilleBioHub has supported more than 100 early-stage startups to date with advice, resources and connections. Opening the CBA boosts this support to a more intensive level, adding office and lab space, shared equipment, mentorship and an in-house community of entrepreneurs. U.Va. is allocating space in the university’s North Fork discovery park with offices, labs and collaborative workspace.

“I believe passionately that this is a core function of a university,” says Michael Lenox, a professor at U.Va.’s Darden School of Business who is helping establish the program. “Our teaching mission is first and foremost, and our research mission is absolutely critical. But the question of how we get our discoveries out into the world is absolutely critical as well.”

The first six companies slated to participate include those working on a pulmonary fibrosis therapy, a solution for genetic epilepsy and non-opioid pain control, and a gene therapy for Type 1 diabetes, among others. Each cohort will participate for 12 to 18 months, and up to two years if some companies need more support.

CvilleBioHub and U.Va. are joined by Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, the Manning Family Foundation and other private donors in launching the accelerator. The state of Virginia is contributing a $4.3 million GO Virginia grant, which is partially matched by other partners for a total of $7.5 million.

The goal is to build a regional ecosystem of innovation while establishing a presence on a national scale for life sciences and biotech innovation.

“We want to build the next generation of those types of companies,” says Nikki Hastings, co-founder and executive director of the CvilleBioHub. “We are cultivating an end-to-end strategy for life sciences in Virginia. We are excited to take this community we’ve built to the next stage and continue to grow the great opportunities that these companies have ahead of them.”