The growing need for wet lab space

As one of the only third-party lab spaces in downtown Toronto, MaRS plays an important role for researchers taking their first steps outside of academic settings.

Milica Radisic, founder of biotech company Quthero, was feeling the squeeze of Toronto’s tight real estate market. In order to refine her startup’s solution — gels that heal post-surgical scars — she needed lab space. But Toronto was (and still is) famously short on wet labs. Last fall, Radisic was considering a DIY approach and building something herself in a rental storage unit, when found out she could access space in the MaRS Incubator, which caters to early-stage health sciences firms.

She moved into the lab space last November. Today, Quthero’s face cream is being distributed in the U.S., and the company is close to commercialization. But there was a scary stretch when success seemed impossible. “We could have been on the street,” Radisic says. “It was a huge relief to land at MaRS.”

The MaRS Centre has 1.5-million square feet of office, lab and event space — and more than 60 percent of that space is dedicated to supporting researchers and companies using wet lab space to work on everything from next-generation vaccines to plant-based proteins. Yet across the GTA, there’s an acute shortage of labs. It’s particularly rough for young companies that lack capital, but nevertheless need labs to test, develop and refine their solutions.

“That uncertainty takes attention away from the operations of any startup,” says Paul Santerre, director of H2i at the University of Toronto. “Entrepreneurs will do what it takes to survive. If that means leaving for the U.S., they will leave for the U.S.” With dedicated space for ventures at every stage of development, the MaRS Centre plays a vital role in fostering the province’s biotech ecosystem.

Place matters

Wet-lab space is far more complex than other real estate assets, which only adds to the challenge. “It isn’t just about installing fume hoods and bench tops,” says Carla Spina, CEO of Noa Therapeutics, a preclinical company developing drug compounds for immune diseases. The web-lab infrastructure often needs to be bespoke to the venture. In particular, Spina and her co-founder, Serena Mandla, needed specialized modular equipment that came with high overhead. They did plenty of recon, visiting Boston to scope out potential headquarters, as well as taking residency in JLABS @ Toronto in the MaRS Centre. They also took office space in the MaRS Incubator in November 2022, which has allowed them to save time and money with so many resources all in one place.

Then there are scale-ups like Notch Therapeutics. The firm had outgrown its original headquarters at University of Toronto’s Banting Institute, and needed a much larger space to further develop its stem-cell immunity treatments for cancer. Back in 2015, MaRS was the only place in the city with large customizable quarters for wet lab users. Emily Titus, Notch’s senior vice president of technical operations, worked with the MaRS real estate team to build a 12,000-square-foot lab and office space. Most importantly, MaRS installed new air handling units and created segregated zones for Notch’s various activities. “We’re very grateful,” says Titus. “Our new space is such a beautiful upgrade.”

Over the past two decades MaRS has put the right pieces in place to help grow the biotech ecosystem, says Nina Gazzola, the senior vice president of innovation hubs at MaRS. “With organizations, such as CCRM and Public Health Ontario, along with scaleups and startups all under one roof, the MaRS Centre  offers a unique connection between research, universities, hospitals and ventures,” she says. “Before MaRS, there was no other space like it in Canada.”

MaRS makes moves

One of the keys to building a strong biotech ecosystem is to provide space for fast-rising stars throughout the commercialization process so that they can advance their solutions and accrue revenue with the ultimate goal of moving into their own unique homes, which, in turn, frees up space for new companies. As one of the only third-party lab spaces in downtown Toronto, MaRS plays an important role for researchers taking their first steps outside of academic settings. And the density of hospitals, institutions and startups helps create a collaborative environment, where early-stage entrepreneurs can share equipment and network with other tenants.

“MaRS provides tailored physical infrastructure for startups at every stage of development,” says Louise Pichette, senior manager of health sciences at MaRS. “Life sciences ventures need a lot of support — it can take more than a decade and billions of dollars to get a new therapy from bench to bedside.”  Pichette points to Deep Genomics, a drug-development company with more than $300 million in funding and at least 10 drugs in development. After years of hard work, the long-time MaRS tenant is scaling up. It partnered with the hub’s Real Estate team to find new space within the building for its growing operations. In addition to its space in the MaRS Incubator, the MaRS real estate team partnered with  Deep Genomics to build a new 5,000 square-foot lab for them next to Notch.

And to support the next generation of health sciences firms, the 30,000 square-foot MaRS Incubator provides early-stage ventures a dedicated area to develop their innovations. “The Incubator Space is particularly well suited for companies making that transition from academic research — they’re using state-of-the-art facilities and interacting with the best of Toronto’s life sciences community,” Pichette says.

Building community

Community is what’s keeping Toronto in the mix as a tech capital, says Noa’s Serena Mandla, noting that being in close proximity to so many VCs, scientists, clinicians and MaRS experts has been invaluable for her company. “We considered relocating, but we love it here. The ecosystem is so supportive, the diversity is unmatched and as an international city, Toronto acts as a platform to reach out to global experts.”

Paul Santerre couldn’t agree more. He entered the Toronto startup world when it was in its infancy and is proud that H2i was one the first tenants at the MaRS Centre. “Entrepreneurs are drawn to happiness and creativity, so it’s a great city in which to live and work,” he says.

 
Are you looking for lab space? Contact the MaRS Hubs team to learn more.

 
Photography courtesy of Notch Therapeutics