Clinical-stage biotechnology company Infinitopes has signed for an initial 800 sq ft at Motherlabs, ARC Oxford’s accelerator space.
The company is the first tenant to sign up at Motherlabs and is graduating to the space from the Oxford BioEscalator. ARC Oxford is supporting Infinitopes’s transition from an incubator environment into dedicated grow-on space, with plans already in place for Infinitopes to expand into a bespoke 5,000 sq ft laboratory and office space on the campus, as the company continues to scale.
Motherlabs was created to bridge the gap between university incubators and larger commercial laboratory space, giving ambitious science companies the flexibility to grow without disrupting research programmes.
Dan Williams, director of asset management at ARC Oxford, said: “Companies like Infinitopes demonstrate the strength of Oxford’s innovation ecosystem. After successfully growing at the Oxford BioEscalator, Motherlabs provides the ideal next step, enabling the business to continue growing within a purpose-built environment before moving into larger, permanent laboratory space. Our ambition is to create a seamless growth journey, ensuring pioneering companies can remain within a supportive innovation community as they scale from early stage research to commercial success.”
Jo Brewer, CSO and interim COO at Inifinitopes, added: “As we continue to expand our team and progress our clinical programmes, having the right laboratory environment is critical. Motherlabs provides the flexibility we need at this important stage, allowing us to maintain momentum while preparing for our move into larger facilities at ARC Oxford.
“Remaining within Oxford’s world leading life sciences ecosystem ensures we stay closely connected to the talent, partners and collaborators that have supported our journey so far. Many thanks to the BioEscalator and its team for giving us our first home, providing the insights, stability and flexibility that has allowed us to progress to the clinical stage.”
Dr Claire Shingler, business manager at the BioEscalator, the University of Oxford’s biomedical incubator, said: “Infinitopes’ progress – growing with us then graduating from the BioEscalator to continue its expansion elsewhere – shows our business model in action. It’s been very exciting to support this University of Oxford spin-out’s evolution to the clinical stage in the four years that it’s been a tenant at the BioEscalator. The Infinitopes team has made a significant contribution to our community and we look forward to watching its continued success as part of the Oxford innovation ecosystem.”
