The Austin Technology Incubator is a partner in a new biotech research lab to be built at Austin Community College’s Highland campus.
ACC received a $4.9 million grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to build the 8,400-square-foot lab facility, which will allow Austin-area biotech companies to test new products while serving as an educational resource for ACC students.
The new lab will meet the cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices) guidelines and support testing of a variety of products including pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Students in ACC’s Biotechnology Program will develop skills and industry exposure through internships with companies that lease space in the lab.
In 2011 ATI published a feasibility study for a wet-lab incubator which documented a shortage of 60,000 square feet of commercial wet laboratory space in Central Texas, constraining the initiation and growth of life science startups in the region. The study concluded that if such a facility were built, at capacity, the incubator would contribute between $40 million and $110 million in regional economic development per year and create between 690 and 1835 direct and indirect jobs.
Other partners in the ACC project include the Texas Life-Sciences Collaboration Center and the city of Georgetown.
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