Stellenbosch University (SU) has announced the opening of the LaunchLab CERIBIO, a biotechnology laboratory for biotechnology startups.

The initiative aims to accelerate the local biotechnology sector, bridging the gap between research and real-world impact.

The laboratory has been specifically designed to provide entrepreneurs with the necessary equipment and incubation support to commercialise their biotech research.

Of SU’s current 35 spinout companies, ten are in the biotechnology sector.

Innovus Technology Transfer Office and the LaunchLab have successfully incubated five biotech spinouts – Fluorobiotech, Biocode, Phagoflux, Urobo Biotech and Immobazyme.

During the incubation of these companies, two critical barriers were identified, namely, the high costs of material and laboratory infrastructure.

Unlike traditional academic or government biotech facilities, the LaunchLab CERIBIO aims to solve this challenge by providing entrepreneurs with affordable laboratory space, equipment and specialised business support to help scale their biotechnology ventures.

The facility is a strategic investment aimed at boosting Africa’s biotechnology ecosystem and attract more investment into deep tech ventures.

“We have an incredible foundation for research at Stellenbosch University and in South Africa, in general. However, we lack biotech laboratory incubators that can convert our world-class science into products,” says Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation director Professor Tulio de Oliveira.

“During the pandemic, we led the world in the discovery of variants and clinical trials, but we were at the back of the queue to access diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. That is one of the reasons why we are investing in LaunchLab CERIBIO, to position South Africa as a global leader in the production of biotechnology products that save lives and advance livelihoods,” he adds.

Despite South Africa’s thriving startup ecosystem, investors prefer to invest in software, fintech, and consumer-driven sectors which have a much faster time to market, SU points out, emphasising, therefore, the importance of universities actively participating in ecosystem conversations to advocate for increased infrastructure and investment flow into science-based ventures with high commercial and global impact potential.

SU innovation and commercialisation chief director Anita Nel founded the original LaunchLab in 2015 and spearheaded the LaunchLab CERIBIO project with a strategic vision to create a space that supports both business incubation and commercial collaboration.

This model has proven to be successful, exemplified by ventures such as CubeSpace, an aerospace spinout on its way to becoming Africa’s first university spinout unicorn, SU highlights.

“The LaunchLab CERIBIO coupled with the LaunchLab business incubator facility is the start of what we hope will foster more collaboration in our ecosystem. SU LaunchLab will continue hosting various ecosystem initiatives in collaboration with the Stellenbosch Network and Innovus TTO.

“These activities are always driving local investor support, and the LaunchLab CERIBIO adds some depth to this community by attracting local and global investors, and stakeholders who are keen to collaborate,” Nel avers.

Serving as a project partner, SU biotechnology spinout Fluorobiotech, has spearheaded the facility’s renovations, design and implementation.

The team will also manage and run LaunchLab CERIBIO under an agreed service level agreement with the SU Innovation and Commercialisation Division.

The lab space will be shared with their spinout peers BioCode and Phagoflux.

SU’s Innovation and Commercialisation Division acknowledges that the facility does have capacity limitations, and therefore, aims to raise enough funds to establish a larger facility that can accommodate even more African biotechnology companies.

The university plans to replicate LaunchLab and LaunchLab CERIBIO, albeit on a much larger scale, at The Bridge – a new smart city development close to Stellenbosch, and is looking for partners to collaborate with them in this regard.

“This is just the beginning, we are already engaged with large funders and investors such as the Mastercard Foundation to help us expand the ecosystem,” De Oliviera informs.