The University Corporate Research Park, or UCRP, a wholly owned subsidiary of the MSU Foundation, has launched its newest property, the VanCamp Incubator + Research Labs.
The VanCamp Incubator is a 22,000-square-foot multi-tenant facility welcoming emerging companies and researcher groups across the Greater Lansing region and beyond. A ribbon cutting ceremony marking the building’s grand opening was held Thursday, Sept. 12. The incubator is now open to companies from the region as well as those coming directly out of the MSU ecosystem.
“This is a much-needed facility for our community,” said Gabriela Allum, UCRP project manager. “The growing number of startup companies coming out of Michigan State University in areas like quantitative health, imaging and structural biology now have an off-campus incubator with full wet-lab facilities, instrumentation and services.”
The VanCamp Incubator features nine wet labs and 42 office spaces, as well as shared equipment rooms, conference rooms and common areas. Companies coming into the VanCamp Incubator can use the resources and services to grow their businesses until they can move on to their own operations within the community.
The incubator is named in honor of Loretta VanCamp, a MSU microbiologist and researcher, whose work contributed to the development of the world’s leading anti-cancer drug, cisplatin.
“Loretta VanCamp was crucial to the research done at MSU, which resulted in the saving of countless lives,” said Jeff Smith, UCRP director. “This a milestone moment for MSU, the research community and the regional economy. We are excited for what’s ahead.”
Smith explained that the innovators using the VanCamp Incubator will now have resources that position them to make dramatic, positive impacts on the physical and bio-sciences for generations to come.