Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (AREEE) and longstanding collaborator Eli Lilly and Company recently announced that they had formed an exclusive partnership that aims to expand the innovative Gateway Labs model to the San Diego market.

First opened by Lilly in 2019 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Gateway Labs is a shared innovation accelerator where emerging biotechnology companies can access mission-critical, flexible laboratories and the essential, integrated, nontechnical space they need to speed up the innovative medicine discovery process. What’s more, Gateway Labs companies can leverage the partnership to identify collaboration opportunities and access capital through Eli Lilly and its venture network, which includes Alexandria Venture Investments.

Located in the heart of the local life sciences cluster in Alexandria’s University Town Center (UTC) submarket, the Gateway Labs platform will bring a significant contribution to accelerating growth for the next generation of leading life sciences companies in San Diego. The accelerator is expected to open within the first six months of 2024. Future features include:

• flexibly designed, move-in-ready laboratory space
• fully integrated nontechnical space
• open collaboration areas
• core equipment
• vital operational support services
• access to Alexandria’s premier amenities, such as wellness and fitness programs, as well as conference space

Since the 1994 acquisition of its first laboratory building in Torrey Pines, Alexandria has led the development and expansion of the local scene into one of the country’s top life sciences ecosystems. In fact, San Diego has come to rank among the very top metros for life sciences in the U.S., has earned a place among the top 10 U.S. metros for artificial intelligence innovation, and is one of the best U.S. cities for women working in STEM.

According to statements released by the partnering companies, AREEE’s footprint in this sector includes nearly 15 million square feet of rentable lab and R&D office space in San Diego, and nearly 8 million square feet currently in operation supporting a wide range of innovative companies.

“We value our longtime, strategic relationship with Lilly, and we are honored to work together to bring Gateway Labs to UTC in the epicenter of the San Diego Science Sector, which is home to more than 525 life science companies,” said Daniel J. Ryan, AREEE co-president and regional market director for San Diego.

“We are immensely proud to have provided Lilly with long-term real estate solutions across our innovation clusters for over a decade, including two Gateway Labs locations in South San Francisco,” said Monica Beam, senior vice president and co-lead of science and technology at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. and Alexandria Venture Investments. “With more than 20 novel therapeutics and platforms in development by companies in the Gateway Labs community, this distinctive model is playing an incredible role in advancing innovation to improve patient lives. We look forward to the upcoming opening of Gateway Labs at the Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine at our 15 Necco development in Boston and, importantly, to deepening our longstanding partnership with Lilly as we expand Gateway Labs to San Diego.”

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