TheWell Bioscience Has New Home at NJEDA’s Life Sciences Incubator

On Mar 1, 2019

TheWell Bioscience was recently welcomed as the newest tenant at the Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT), a life sciences incubator in North Brunswick owned by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA). From its new location at CCIT, the biotech company will further develop and scale its advanced 3D cell culture hydrogel system for drug screening, tissue engineering, and pre-clinical applications.

TheWell Bioscience’s xeno-free 3D hydrogel platform (VitroGelTM) has solved the issues of current animal-derived extra-cellular matrix (ECM) system by providing great consistency and capability beyond laboratory applications. The system is room-temperature stable and ready-to-use, shortening the 3D cell culture operation time from a few hours to within 20 minutes with one simple mixing step. By helping scientists generate more accurate data with higher efficiency, TheWell Bioscience aims to accelerate the process of drug discovery and personalized medicine by filling the gap between traditional 2D studies and animal model with a robust 3D model analysis platform.

TheWell Bioscience Chief Executive Officer John Huang noted that, in addition to the two products currently in distribution, his company is about to launch six additional products and significantly ramp up marketing and collaboration outreach. The company currently has 14 international distributors servicing 28 countries and over 250 universities and research institutes worldwide.

“We have found New Jersey to be the perfect spot for our company,” Huang said. “Because it’s one of the biggest biopharmaceutical hubs in the country, the Garden State offers us access to a large pool of talented scientists and opportunities to provide service to more than a dozen of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.”

The 900-square-foot private lab at CCIT that TheWell Bioscience moved into was an ideal fit for the company, after it had outgrown leased shared workspace in Newark.

“We love to hear about New Jersey startups growing and choosing to expand within New Jersey’s innovation ecosystem, particularly at a leading life sciences incubator like CCIT,” NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan said. “Supporting innovative early-stage companies with affordable lab and office space is a strategic element in Gov. Phil Murphy’s plan to reclaim New Jersey’s role as a leader in innovation. CCIT tenants have a long history of impacting the global marketplace and we look forward to what’s in store for TheWell Bioscience in the years to come.”

Strategically located in the heart of the state’s research corridor between Rutgers and Princeton universities, CCIT offers 27 wet labs, the most of any incubator in New Jersey. Currently home to nearly two-dozen businesses, the 46,000-square-foot incubator includes both small and large labs, as well as offices. CCIT also offers discounted first-year rent for university spinouts. Additionally, CCIT provides tenant companies like TheWell Bioscience with educational programs and a host of supporting resources, including help to identify funding sources and access to small business development resources, networking opportunities, and administrative support.

CCIT is located within the Technology Centre of New Jersey, a 50-acre research park that houses such companies as Allergan, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA, Inc., and CCIT graduate Orthobond.

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