Turnkey research facility expands national network
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Explora BioLabs, a national provider of industry-leading preclinical vivarium research space and management services based in San Diego, opened a new facility here on Sept. 20, 2021.
The new vivarium, located in South San Francisco, East Side, is Explora BioLabs’ sixth San Francisco facility (a seventh is expected to open in Dec. 2021).
The new Haskins location provides biotechnology companies with fully managed off-site vivarium and research space, as well as access to local preclinical research services and Ph.D.-level staff. The facility allows researchers to focus on their science while Explora BioLabs’ staff handles the preclinical in vivo management, husbandry, logistics, and compliance requirements. Explora BioLabs facilities feature state-of-the-art equipment and operations, all of which are validated through AAALAC accreditation, NIH/OLAW assurance, and best-in-class health monitoring.
The Haskins facility gives biotechnology companies a convenient and easily accessible location from which to focus on their science. Haskins is ~5.5 miles from San Francisco International Airport and ~2 miles from the Park ‘N Fly airport shuttle station. The nearest train station is ~1.6 miles away. It is also less than 2 miles from two of South San Francisco’s top biotech incubator spaces.
The facility joins six others in Explora BioLabs’ national Vivarium-as-a-Service® network that have opened recently or will open later this year. The network is designed for biotechnology companies that are not yet ready or able to invest in their own vivaria, and for those who have outgrown their current research space and need supplemental solutions. Other facilities in Explora BioLabs’ national network are distributed throughout California (San Francisco and San Diego) and Boston, Mass. This network supports the growth of the entire biotech ecosystem in each city allowing researchers to rapidly engage in their research and have the flexibility to relocate or co-locate knowing they will have reliable, highest-quality facilities nearby.
“As a small biotech company discovering and developing translational inhibitors in oncology, we needed a vivarium management solution that was more than just a landlord,” said Jocelyn S., former associate director of R&D at eFFECTOR Therapeutics, an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company located in San Diego. “Explora BioLabs provided the professional infrastructure we were seeking, as well as animal husbandry, a compliance backbone, and scientific experience—everything we need to support our work and set us up for pharmacological success.”
“In a highly competitive and costly real estate market, we offer biotech companies significant efficiency and savings. Were they to secure real estate to build their own vivarium, it would require that they commit to a multi-year lease for a space large enough to accommodate supplies and storage, gowning, secured entry, restroom, shipping/receiving, and more—plus added spend for capital equipment,” said Sandy Paige, Explora BioLabs’ CEO. “In our OnDemand facilities, a client can instead contract on a short-term service agreement for just the few hundred square feet of research-ready, equipped rooms. The rest of the facility, operational equipment, and overhead is managed by us at a fraction of the shared cost to the client. With Explora, research space becomes a variable expense for cash-conservative clients versus a long-term, fixed cost associated with maintaining a private facility.”
For nearly two decades, Explora has provided services to companies ranging from early stage biotechs to large pharma. Explora’s service portfolio is backed by Ph.D.-level scientists with experience in preclinical in vivo workflow. As part of Explora’s contract research package, staff can assist in or run comprehensive preclinical studies for clients in the event of capacity or expertise limitations.
About Explora BioLabs
Explora BioLabs’ national vivarium network provides biotechnology clients with on- and off-site vivarium services including vivarium management, facility design, rodent housing and equipment, supply chain management, regulatory oversight, and veterinary/husbandry staffing. For clients whose research programs or internal expertise is at capacity, Explora also runs preclinical contract research studies including full-solution and/or a-la-carte in vivo services. Explora’s CRO services include the design and execution of preclinical studies for oncology and IVIS imaging, metabolism, pain, and a variety of other common therapeutic areas; and pharmacokinetics and non-GLP toxicology studies.
For more information, visit explorabiolabs.com.
