The Incubator at the New Jersey Bioscience Center offers lab space starting at 900 square feet up to 1,300 square feet, conference rooms, private offices and the opportunity to collaborate. - MATTHEW FAZELPOOR/NJBIZ
The Incubator at the New Jersey Bioscience Center offers lab space starting at 900 square feet up to 1,300 square feet, conference rooms, private offices and the opportunity to collaborate. - MATTHEW FAZELPOOR/NJBIZ
Matthew Fazelpoor//April 28, 2025//
A visit to North Brunswick can offer a glimpse into a key hub of life sciences and innovation in the Garden State. The New Jersey Bioscience Center, centrally located along Route 1, is a 50-acre site that includes five buildings and three pad sites with 300,000 square feet of life sciences space – such as the Incubator at North Brunswick, which has 27 wet labs and around 20 companies; Step-Out Labs at North Brunswick; as well as more office and lab space for growing firms and established companies at other on-site buildings.
The Incubator offers entrepreneurs lab space starting at 900 square feet up to 1,300 square feet, conference rooms, private offices and the opportunity to collaborate with fellow entrepreneurs.
“Located alongside New Jersey’s Route 1 Research Corridor, the Incubator at the New Jersey Bioscience Center leverages its close proximity to leading universities and corporations to attract, retain and grow companies of the future that fuel our highly talented workforce,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which oversees the site, in a June 2024 news release that touted the impact of the NJ Bioscience Center Incubator.
The IMPACT Study found that the BCI has been a vital resource for the life sciences sector — and has had a major impact on the state’s overall economy. For example, BCI-supported companies have created an average of 2,744 jobs per year. In 2023, resident companies generated $32 million in state and local tax revenue.
In addition, since 2002, BCI companies have generated over $9 billion in total output – and $4 billion in total labor income – and since 2002 BCI graduates have raised $743 million in public offerings. Notable graduates include Amicus Therapeutics, GENEWIZ and Advaxis (now known as Ayala).
“The BCI is one of many ways the NJEDA is supporting biotech and life sciences businesses and startups by providing them with the space and resources to grow their companies, while encouraging collaboration among like-minded entrepreneurs,” said NEJDA Chief Economic Transformation Officer Kathleen Coviello. “This report shows that New Jersey has what it takes to remain at the forefront of innovation.”
During the NJEDA’s recent “Founders and Funders” event at The College of New Jersey, Tim Rollender, senior advisor, Strategic Innovation Initiatives at the agency, discussed the New Jersey Bioscience Center during a presentation on the state’s Strategic Innovation Centers.
“The NJ Bioscience Center – I like to think of us as our grandfather of Strategic Innovation Centers,” said Rollender. “A life science incubator right on Route 1 in North Brunswick, New Jersey.”
Lenzie Harcum, director of the New Jersey Bioscience Center, led NJBIZ on a tour of the site, facilities and to a few of the startups themselves.
As Harcum went through the different lab spaces and offerings at the Center, he noted how startups have different needs. “Sometimes a company wants four-in-a-row of labs – this large. I mean, they have to start with one, then prove to us that they need four,” Harcum quipped. “Or they can start on the other side, if they have four different types of projects – and have smaller labs where they can have separate teams of four and five within those labs. He noted that the campus includes walking trails and a courtyard, which often has activity on nice days.
Harcum said most companies have just one or two people working. “So, the lab we walked past where you saw a couple of people in there – they are doing services. And they have five people. That’s usually all a good lab director wants in there. We don’t have a restriction – but it is self-policing. If they’re scientists, it’s just not going to have the workflow optimized. I’ve never seen over five people.”
NJBIZ also met with the co-founders of Zena Therapeutics – Chief Executive Officer Ariana Vasilatis and Chief Scientific Officer Eileen Carry. Zena is a drug discovery company spun out of Rutgers University that focuses on designing safer medication for mental health and addiction.
“We’re aiming to make alternatives to benzodiazepines – and ultimately, opiates,” Carry told NJBIZ. “Right now, we’re starting with benzodiazepines like Xanax, Valium. We’re ultimately trying to maintain efficacy – when taken as prescribed at a therapeutic dose. But just eliminate all those risks that come if misused – if taken in excess or with other substances. So, we’re trying to eliminate the overdose – basically all the fatal risks.”
The co-founders said that they had been operating out of the Center for just under two years – and described the experience. “There’s a lot of benefits because we get to still do chemistry – so we’ve still been making molecules and moving forward with the research,” said Carry. “We haven’t hired anyone yet – so it’s just us. We did have two interns over the summer who were really helpful, and they were able to set up reactions. We have resources here too. If we need help with something and there’s other labs that are doing similar things – so we can always ask if we need other resources for what we’re doing. And figuring out how to accomplish the research – and then get grants.”
Vasilatis said the resources include a number of individuals at the Center who have gone through certain parts of the process and journey that Zena is going through. “And they do shed a lot of insight and wisdom on that – because when you’re starting something like a small business, when you’re mostly academic as Eileen and I are, you don’t know what you don’t know,” she said. “Especially in the entrepreneurial space. And when you’re getting into pharmaceuticals, there’s a lot of business development required – on top of the science. So, I think that’s one of the biggest, maybe not challenges, but the biggest eye opener of how many strategic partnerships you need – and that are available in this area.
“So, that you can move forward not just in the science – but in the business aspect as well.”
Another entrepreneur operating at the Center is GP Singh, the co-founder and chairman of Shinkei Therapeutics, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focusing on central nervous system disorders; using the 505 (b)(2) regulatory pathway, they repurpose existing pharmaceutical products to achieve faster and more effective patient outcomes.
Singh is a veteran of the pharmaceutical industry, who has been a CEO at several companies. Shinkei began operating from the Center in the middle of 2024.
“Wonderful,” said Singh when asked how experience has been. “We heard good things about the ecosystem around here – just the network of people, the support system, the presence of NJEDA. So that was very attractive.”
“We use it as a meeting space, interaction,” Singh continued. “I interact with a lot of other scientists here – exchange ideas with them.”
Thus, the space provides a community.
We use [the Bioscience Center] as a meeting space, interaction. I interact with a lot of other scientists here – exchange ideas with them.
– GP Singh, Shinkei Therapeutics
“And it’s not about creating a deal or anything. It’s also about exchange of views on the challenges we commonly face,” said Singh. “And also, their experiences. So, we interact. We talk about science. We talk about general fundraising, business development, other things.”
He described that support system and culture as a major attraction – while noting another key aspect.
“Knowing that, as we are growing, there is a lot of space available, which we can take advantage of,” said Singh. “That’s a big plus for us.”
BioAegis Therapeutics is a clinical stage company focused on developing therapies for infectious, inflammatory and degenerative diseases. The company graduated from the incubator and moved to the Step-Out Labs on the campus, which offers lab and office modules for, and facilitates the growth of, post-incubation biotech companies, such as BioAegis, which was also recently recognized by NJBIZ as a top startup.
Its portfolio, which employs an immunotherapeutic approach to combining pathogens, is based on plasma gelsolin, a protein naturally produced by human tissue.
“What I’ve enjoyed about this space is all the other companies here,” said Jeremy Pronchik, scientist for BioAegis. “What’s nice about that is you all eat in the same area – we’re scientists, we’re not all social people. So, it doesn’t necessarily happen on its own. But you can talk to other people – and make friends with them. And then say – ‘hey, I need that instrument – you have one, can I borrow it?’ There’s so many times that I got to do something because I knew somebody who had the thing that I didn’t have.”
Pronchik reflected on his time at the Center – and noted a number of plusses, especially the combination of the location and opportunity.
“If you want this kind of environment – and now I really appreciate the startup environment as a scientist – there’s just things you’re able to do here that you can’t in a larger company,” said Pronchik. “This is one of the few places I’m aware of where you can have this kind of opportunity here – unless you really want to leave the area.”